NHJ Japan releases a new Hard-drive based small Music player. The VHD-1500 is lighter than the iPod mini and plays OGG, MP3 and WMA.

It features a 1.5 GB hard-drive that can hold about 350 songs. I do not understand why NHJ is not offering a 4GB HD, that would enable them to compete directly with Apple. Maybe Apple bought all 4GB drives on the planet, who knows. The VHD-1500 measures 87.5mm x 50mm x 17.2mm and weighs 70g. The display has 128×128dots graphics display. Direct encoding and FM receiver are built-in. The battery holds 18 hours.
More details on NJH Japan Product Page.

NHJ will sell this iPod mini competitor on the japanese market for 30,000yen (~$268). Apple offers a trade-in program in Japan for their old iPods in order to maintain its customers.