XClef 500: New Capacity King?

Although a recent survey indicated that about 1000 songs (roughly 4GB) was enough storage capacity for the typical MP3 player owner, adding a bigger harddrive is still a way to differentiate yourself from the crowd. With that noted, Digital Mind has announced the XClef 500 which comes in either a 40GB or 80GB flavor. Like most of the current crop, it also includes an FM radio and digital recording.

Most of the popular players of today (iRiver iHP-140 and the 3rd generation Apple iPod, for example) top out at 40GB. So doubling that is significant. However, there is a price to be paid for all that space. Most high-capacity players use 1.8" drives, but the XClef uses a 2.5" laptop harddrive, giving it dimensions of 5.1"x3.2"x0.87" (compared with the 4.1"x2.4"x0.73" of a 40GB iPod). Furthermore, the site indicates that you can use any 2.5" laptop drive, so if 80GB still isn't enough, you can drop in a larger replacement yourself. [Via Engadget]

• Rio Says "Me Too!" to 6GB
  
• iRiver H10 Gets a 6GB Boost
  
• New Roc Box Site
  
• Cowon iAudio X5 Info and Photos