Digital Mind Corp. (DMC) announced Monday that it will manufacture, distribute and support the DMC-Xclef 500 portable music player in the United States. The Xclef is already available from MultiChannel Labs (MCL) in Europe. It’s available in 40GB (US$349) and 80GB ($449) capacities and is compatible with Macs and PCs.
The USB 2.0-equipped device features an FM tuner and the ability to record FM signals and voice using a built-in mic. It’s equipped with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that’s good for about 20 hours of use, and features a 2.5-inch hard drive. The Xclef 500 measures 129 x 81 x 22mm and weighs about 255g, and appears to the computer as a mass storage device, so it can be used to back up data as well as store music.
The manufacturer says the device is plug and play compatible and said no software is required for use; presumably it does not come with software to make it visible to iTunes. Also, the device can play MP3 and WMA-format files only; it does not support AAC, the native format for music downloaded from the iTunes Music Store.