Creative Zen Vision:M (30GB, green)

Pros: Nice design, awesome features, customizable interface, great sound quality

Cons: Track shuttle buttons can be hard to use, scratch-prone screen!

Summary: Creative managed to make the Zen Micro extremely scratch-resistant--why they couldn't do this for the Vision:M is beyond me! It's not as scratch-prone as the iPod, but it does get scuffed much more easily than its little sibling. The track shuttle buttons, which are activated by rocking the scroll stip back and forth, require a bit of precision to use.

The complaints end there. I love that you can customize the interface by choosing themes and setting the background image--You can even adjust the brightness and tone of the wallpaper (there are filters for the latter, like "sienna" for a brown tinge to your image). Features like an FM radio and the ability to sync calendar and contact info from Outlook are nice extras. Fun and funky colors and cool blue button backlighting round out the package.