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Panasonic is already a sizable company, but they are going to get that little bit bigger with the confirmed takeover of Sanyo.  Sanyo have been struggling recently, and it’s probably not a coincidence that their downturn coincides with the economic crisis that we are facing.  Nevertheless, they are still worth a substantial $18.5 billion which will boost Panasonic’s value to around $107.8 billion, making it one of the biggest consumer electronics companies.

The reason behind this is that this takeover will give Panasonic access to two key technologies in the shape of solar panels and batteries which will help them greatly in their own hand-held electronic products, in fact, Sanyo is the market leader in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries.  They will also acquire a company specializing in portable gadgets which generates $4 billion per annum in revenue.  Continued after the break.

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Looks like there just may be two new E series Nokia phones in the works if images on the ‘Net are to be trusted - the upcoming E72 and E75. Apparently, preventing leaks from those doing proto testing, or having promo videos leaked onto the web before they are supposed to be, is a problem companies are seeing more and more often. These images were initially found on the ever-popular YouTube site, before tech and gadget fans started to discover them.

It appears the E72 has the benefits of the E60 with a side sliding form factor. With text messaging, email and sms being all the rage, the full QWERTY keyboard both styles feature will probably also be considered a bonus by many.

Obviously, at this point there is no word on release date or price. Stay tuned for more updates as they come in.

Via [symbianfreak]

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Getting ready to show off their version of an electronic paper at a trade show today in San Diego, Plastic Logic’s yet unnamed device may just be a needed boost for the floundering newspaper industry. The device continually updates wirelessly, and can store content from newspapers, magazines, books, whatever…hundreds of pages worth.  It has a screen that is about 2.5 times the size of the Kindle, yet it only weighs about 2 ounces more, and is actually thinner than the book reader. 

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The iRiver D5 electronic dictionary has gone a lighter shade, now available in white, it sports a similar look to the MacBook.

The white version retains the same specs and will still be available in either a 2GB or 4GB model with some minor multimedia functions. The D5 can play MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio and has a 480 x 272 display with an FM radio and voice recorder.

Similar to the black D5 this white model will remain available only in Korea.

Via [AkihabaraNews]

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