Wow, it really looks like Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) is offloading all of it’s mobile phone divisions. The latest mobile phone arm to take new ownership is Sanyo’s mobile phone sales division. TelePark Corp. has ponied up 4.8 billion yen ($41.6 million) to Sanyo for the mobile phone manufacturer’s sales department.

We should make it clear that TelePark has not acquired Sanyo’s mobile phone division – that would go to Kyocera. However, this deal just confirms that Sanyo wants out of the mobile phone business and that Sanyo will most likely be offloading their mobile phone infrastructure to Kyocera (NYSE: KYO) – making them a true global player.

We’ll keep an eye on this space for you guys. We’re excited to see what Kyocera brings us in the next few development cycles.

[ Via: Wall Street Journal]

Remember when we told you that Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) wanted out of the mobile phone manufacturing business? Well, it seems they’ve found a suitor to take their not-so-blushing mobile phone division off their hands. Kyocera (NYSE: KYO) is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations to buy Sanyo’s in-the-red handset business.

If the acquisition goes through, we could see the creation of the 7th largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world – a definite boost for Kyocera. Word has it that Kyocera will be ponying up 50 billion yen ($435 million) to Sanyo, which should help ease the ailing company’s three-year streak of red-ink.

We’ll keep you updated on how this deal goes down. In the super-competitive market that is the mobile phone business, we wouldn’t be surprised if Kyocera backed out at the last minute, fearing too much risk in the Sanyo acquisition. On the flip side, Kyocera would instantly come into established infrastructure, helping make Kyocera a stronger global player. Stay tuned!

[Via: Yahoo]

Sanyo’s getting their slim-on with this new Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) S1 candybar that we spotted on the FCC webpage. Details on the S1 are just as slim as the 11.1mm profile – thanks to a locked-down confidentiality agreement – but we can tell you that we’re looking at Sprint (NYSE: S) to handle the Sanyo S1’s launch honors.

This slim candybar should come to Sprint as an entry-level handset – it gets Bluetooth but doesn’t look to be sporting any sort of camera. Word on the street has the S1 launching before the holiday shopping season. So, “soon” would be a good way to describe  the impending launch date.

More details as we get them.

[Via: PhoneScoop]

WillCOM is always good for an interesting take on mobile phone design. We love seeing what the Japanese company is going to come up with next – modular, torch-light, headphoneswhat’s next? Well, their newest concept is the fruit of a joint project with Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) – the AA battery-powered mobile phone that you see to the right. This thing is just about as bare-bones as it gets. You get a few buttons, a receiving speaker, microphone, and…that’s it. No display, no extraneous buttons, nothing more than what you need to make a simple phone call.

Oh, and it’s powered by a singe AA-battery. Pop in any AA-battery and you’re good to make screen-less phone calls for 5 hours of talk time on the Japanese PHS network, or wait for an unknown caller for 250 hours of standby. Why the phone has to be as large as it is, we don’t know. But, we kinda like the quirky, battery-shaped design that pays homage to its power source.

We’re glad to see WillCOM and Sanyo working on a AA-battery-powered mobile phone for the masses. But we’d rather pick up that Philiphs Xenium NRG phone that rocks a AAA-battery power source -  it’s got a screen and doesn’t look ridiculous.

Source

PhoneScoop’s Eric M. Zeman had a chance to get his hands on two Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) Katana clamshells – DLX and Katana II. Both devices are available through Sprint (NYSE: S), and are retailing for $129.99 and $49.99 respectively with a two-year subscriber agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate. As you can tell, the DLX is a better device, thus costs $100 more. If you ever considered to get yourself a Katana and were wondering which one is the right for you, check out the following video. Enjoy!

Burning money can be fun. If anything it shows people how wealthy you are. Keeping a company alive that hasn’t made any cash in 3 years however is down right foolish. Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY)’s mobile phones division is struggling to stay afloat and with estimates to sell 11 million phones in the current fiscal year, down from initial expectations of 12.6 million, you have to wonder why even bother? No comments have been made, but speculation has risen that the the bleeding limb might be purchased by another Japanese vendor. Shares of Sanyo are down nearly 4 points from the bad news.

[Via: Reuters]

It looks like Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) Electric Co. is wiping its hands clean of the mobile phone game. Sources “close to the matter” are saying that Sanyo  is prepping Osaka-based Telecom Sanyo Co. for the auction block – with an expected sale amount in the billions of Yen, a healthy boost to the struggling company’s coffers. The handset manufacturing division will be offloaded as a subsidiary.

With 38.4 billion Yen in revenue last year, the handset manufacturing arm of Sanyo is no slouch. But, fierce competition and 3 years of net losses for Sanyo may have prompted them to get out of the industry. We’re sure someone will be jumping at the opportunity to get in on the mobile phone biz.

Sanyo Electric Co. pans to refocus it’s efforts in its core business of manufacturing rechargeable batteries and commercial-use equipment.

Saya nara, Sanyo, it was fun while it lasted.

[Via: Slashphone]

As expected, the rumored Sanyo Katana DLX is no longer a rumor. Sprint (NYSE: S) has gone live with their Katana DLX. The recently FCC-approved twin-brother to the Sanyo Katana II seems to have gotten the lion’s share of brains when it comes to the duelling successors to Sprint’s original Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) Katana. The Sprint Katana DLX outshines the Katana II with “smarter” features like a 1.3 megapixel camera, EVDO data, and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP. With a feature-set that we can comfortably call mid-range, the Katana DLX is set to do battle in the mass-market segment.

Sprint is offering the Sanyo Katana DLX for a cent shy of $130 when you sign your life away a two-year contract. Take your pick of “Platinum Ice,” “Pink Satin,” or “Champagne Gold.”

[Via: Mobile Burn]

Sprint’s barely updated successor to the original Sanyo (OTCPK: SANYY) Katana II has finally been unveiled. The Sanyo SCP-6650 Katana II represents the lower half of the twin updated offerings from Sprint (NYSE: S). With the same camera and still lacking any EVDO data, the Katana II definitely takes a back seat to its big-brother Sanyo Katana DLX. We’re still not sure why Sanyo, or Sprint for that matter, would choose to release two successors to the original Katana (especially when one of them barely qualifies as an update). We’re not swayed by the Katana II’s sub-$100 price point, we’d rather pony up the extra dough for the EVDO-enabled Katana DLX – not that’s a worthy successor.

If, for some reason, you feel like finding out more on the new Katana II, check it out here.

[Via: Phone News]