Sanyo to sell off cell phone division to Kyocera

Sanyo Katana DLX

(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulz)

Alas Sanyo, we hardly knew ye. It looks like the rumblings of a Sanyo mobile division shutdown from earlier this year came true after all. Reuters reports that Sanyo has reached an agreement to sell off its mobile phone division to Kyocera, making it the world's seventh-largest cell phone provider. The sales price hasn't been finalized, though it sounds like the sale is pretty much done. Even after a number of notable cell phone releases this year, like the two new Sanyo Katanas--the Sanyo Katana DLX and the Sanyo Katana II--Sanyo was just not getting the market share it wanted. Which is a little saddening, but Kyocera might use this opportunity to come up with new and exciting handsets and perhaps expand its presence in the U.S.