Philips Readies 8cm eXpanium Beta

Further establishing its dominance as the MP3 hardware king, Philips has announced a new addition to the popular eXpanium lineup. The eXp401 is a smaller incarnation of the portable MP3-CD player, utilizing 8cm disks -- 40% smaller than standard CDs -- that hold 185MB of compressed audio. Philips is looking for 50 beta testers to try out the portable, which is expected to debut late this year.

The eXp401 supports AAC and MP3 audio, and sports a 100-second electronic skip protection. Philips claims 3-hour playback on one AA battery, matching the length of music that can be stored on the 8cm CD. All disk formats are supported, including CDR, CDRW and UDF. A large LCD additionally provides quick navigation through artists and albums.

Philips is banking on the player's low cost for promotion. The mini-CDs can be purchased at most computer stores for about $1 USD, making for a much cheaper alternative to the expensive memory sticks needed in competing pocket MP3 players.

The application period for the eXp401 beta begins today and will run until August 31. Selected testers will be notified via e-mail by September 7, and must use the player for 8 weeks and complete two online questionnaires.

For more information on Philips' eXp401, visit audio.philips.com, or apply now to join the beta test.