Motorola shares up as Verizon launches ad

Shares of Motorola Inc. surged Monday as Verizon Wireless launched an aggressive ad campaign to promote a new Motorola phone.

Shares of Motorola rose 65 cents, or 8.3 percent, to $8.50 in afternoon trading.

Over the weekend, TV ads started running for the "Droid." Details were scant, but it apparently refers to a Motorola phone running Google Inc.'s Android software, to be launched in November.

Also Monday, T-Mobile USA started selling the CLIQ, the first Android phone from Motorola. The use of Android is part of a turnaround effort at Motorola, whose handset division is struggling to come back after its failure to find a follow-up to the hit Razr phone.

In mid-September, Motorola shares hit a 52-week high of $9.45. The shares were at $2.98 as recently as March.