Kenwood continues to try to break into the DAP market. Their latest offering is the HD30GB9. As you could probably decipher from the clever name, the device has a 30GB hard drive for all your storage pleasure. The player has a 2.2 inch QVGA screen, though oddly it doesn’t have the ability to play video or view photographs. The biggest feature this player has to help it stand up from a very crowded field is the inclusion of a digital amp, which will make this thing an audiophile’s wet dream. It plays the formats you would expect, including Kenwood’s own lossless codec, and you can manage it with WMP 10 or Kenwood’s software. It has USB 2.0 connectivity for data transfer and can play back for up to 20 hours on a charge.

The device, which measures 61 x 17 x 104 mm and weighs 140 grams, will retail for about $385 when it is released at the end of the month. Unfortunately, it will only be available in Japan then, and it is unlikely to ever make it across the ocean.