I have a Zen by Creative, and I LOVE it! In fact, when I bought it about a year ago, I was originally going to get an iPod, but the Zen was cheaper, with more memory, and IMHO, some better features. One of the big reasons I decided against an iPod was the battery -- you can't change it yourself, or at least not on last year's model. I'm not sure if they have models with FM tuners though.
For the poster who asked what the difference is...iPod is the brand or model, so people who've mentioned iRiver, Zen, Rio, those are all brands or models of MP3 players.
I guess the easiest analogy to make is you know how before there was either betamax or VHS? MP3 is a file format, as opposed to a WAV file. Then once you decide you want a VHS player, you have an assortment of models to choose from, like Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, etc., which is like being able to choose from an iPod or Rio for an MP3 player. (Sorry, I don't know if that helps any! I might've just made it more confusing!)
Anyhow, a lot of these players play various formats, not just MP3, but I think because MP3 is the most common, well-known one, people just refer to all of these machines as MP3 players.
Back to OP -- Creative has other models besides the Zen that are smaller, with less memory, but still more than adequate. I actually have another Creative MP3 called a MuVo. It's older and doesn't have nearly as many features, but it's so tiny! You can actually just plug it directly into the USB port without a cable. BF uses the MuVo now that I have my Zen. In any case, we've been happy with both of these products by Creative, so it might be worth checking out.