I have the Creative Zen V. The silly thing has turned into my constant companion. It is small, simple, and, so far, bullet-proof (No, not literally, sillies). Non-Apple, 'cause I have an unreasoning dislike of Apple products. No, I don't know where it came from.

My only real advice is to get as much memory as you can afford - or somewhat more than you can afford. You won't regret the extra space.