always see past the ipod, you are paying extra for the name, creative has longer lasting life, battery lasts for over 24 hours, the only nag is the navigation, but i guess its what you use it for
mine stays in my car, i have an adapotor that fits into my cassete tape, i have over 150 albums on it, and it plays on random in my car
order of choice
creative
i river
then i-pod
in my opinion, from reading the reviews and owning a creative zen