It’s a pen. No, it’s an mp3 player. No, it’s USB memory. It’s all of the above, actually. Not a completely novel idea (Sony MC-P10), but this certainly has the smallest size and largest capacity (128MB) I’ve seen.

Thanko Limited has begun sale of the the “USB MP3 Pen with voicerecorder” o­n their direct sale “Rare Mono Shop.” Its cost is 8,890 yen. Shipments will begin o­n June 28^th. Supported operating systems are Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, and XP.

This product has mp3 player, voice recorder, and usb memory functions all in a ballpoint pen body. When the battery box housing a AAA battery is removed, a ballpoint pen attachment can be attached allowing the device to also act as a pen. A USB 1.1 connector is also inside the device. The internal memory is 128MB, and it also supports the USB Storage class.

The top part of the unit is furnished with a mode switch, song select/audio settings, microphone, and status LED. An earphone jack is also o­n the top part.

Because of the construction, the ballpoint pen cannot be used while the mp3 playback function or voice recorder is operating. The included ballpoint pen is black, and the company has said that they are currently investigating the possibility of using other ballpoint pen refills currently o­n the market.

Its external dimensions are 150 x 16mm, and it has a weight of 60g. In addition to the unit, the package also contains a ballpoint pen section, a AAA battery, and stereo earphones.

Inspired by:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040625/thanko.htm

Product Information:
http://www.thanko.jp/MP3PEN.html