Yeah, the battery thing is somewhat of a major issue. And that 15 gig one is meant to be a bit on the dodgy side as well, for other reasons (that I can't remember, d'oh).
Personally I'd shop around. My 30 gig Creative Labs player cost me £200. The interface and software isn't quite as good as the iPod, but I've had no real issues with it that weren't easily fixed. iPods may be good, but they're sickeningly expensive. Either way though, large capacity MP3 players are excellent.