It was released in the United States in the third quarter of 2006 by Sanyo Electric Co.
The Katana was an "ultraslim" mobile phone with a design similar to the Motorola Razr V3.
The Katana was also available in Canada by Bell Mobility, Sasktel and MTS.
The Katana was available in New Zealand by Telecom The Katana was available in India by Reliance sub-sector "A. Bilgi" The Sanyo Katana came in four colors, including mystic black, blue sapphire, cherry blossom and polar white, which was available exclusively through RadioShack.
It was the phone of Dr. Christopher Turk on the television show Scrubs.