The Audio Steno series from Apacer combines fashion with music as is the new trend. The AU240 MP3 player has a leather finish and a single line backlit LCD, while the AU581 has a unique dual color mirror coating, OLEO display and a blue crystal finish that immediately grabs attention.

Both are lightweight and easy to use and have FM built in (though the AU240 doesn't have voice recording). Unlike many of the other entry-level MP3 players, these ones actually come with a set of decent earphones. You can of course useyour own earphones if you like-and pairing these players up with a decent set from Sennheiser or Creative will defnitely make a difference. I listened to various genres of music: Jazz, trance, pop, classic etc; it suits all kinds of music.Sometimes, the highs do tend to overpower the bass-a problem that can be rectified with a better set of earphones.

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Among the specs: they're both available in capacities ranging from 1 to 4 GB and have rechargeable lithium polymer batteries that can be charged by USB. The maximum playback time of the AU240 and AU581 was up to 6 and 9 hours respectively. Adding songs is simple; just connect via USB and drag & drop the songs onto it. There are many other similar flash¬based players available out there from Philips, Samsung and Creative. Buy one of these and you'll get similar sound quality and features at a lesser price. Ultimately, you'll have to decide what's more important to you; a big brand name or more bang for your buck!