Hitachi Japan unveiled three stylish digital audio players, the HMP-F3, HMP-D3 and HMP-S3, with 512MB of flash memory each, in the new I-Muse line-up of portable players. Pick the design that suits you best and let it scream Individuality.

Pick out the first two letters of Muse and what do you get: mu - which for scientists means micro - indicating the portable size of the players.

The HMP-F3 is not your average player: it's got integrated recording function as well, so you can simply connect your CD/MD player and record audio onto its memory. The HMP-D3, on the other hand, comes with a microphone for recording up to 34.8 hours of audio. The D3 ahs a trendy tear-drop design.

The HMP-S3 is the most compact of them all, and features an SD memory slot for expanding on the available 512MB memory. This one's available in two colors, yellow and white.

File formats supported include MP3, WMA and WAV - including DRM 9 and 10 for WMA. the HMP-F3 records in MP3 format as well. It's great that all three support full-speed USB 2.0 transfers from the PC. These portable digital audio players will be available in Japan, but we sure hope they make it to the other side of the world.

Details are available from the I-Muse website. Expect these players next month!