Panasonic just bought a controlling stake in Sanyo for $US4.6 billion to form a Voltron of consumer electronics that’s the second biggest in Japan, behind Hitachi. Why? For Sanyo’s batteries—Sanyo’s the biggest global supplier of rechargeable batteries—and solar panels. [
The Eneloop portable solar pack doesn’t look quite as cool as that Energizer charger we’ve been waiting for, but it will supply 5 volts for 2 hours when it hits Japan in August.