Hoping to compete in the realm of smaller, cheaper digital audio players, Hitachi has announced the I'm Muse HMP-X5, an upgrade to the earlier HMP-G1. The player is distinguished by its blade-like appearance, and while it lacks a graphical interface, it nevertheless has an attractive monochrome display. Control is handled through a direction pad meant to resemble the clickwheel of the Apple iPod.

The player weighs only 1.3 ounces, and has an impressive battery life that extends to 16 hours. Flash memory holds approximately 2GB of audio (including recorded voice), and buyers can pick between black or white colors. Hitachi expects to ship the X5 to Japan at an "open" price on July 12th.