Have you considered an archos 605? I have mine on my desk at work right now, and I like it just fine. I really like the wifi feature, I can use it to stream video from youtube or my computer to my tv. The Cowon A3 ability to play hd would definitely swing me that way if I were shopping now. The Creative is old news, I don't even consider it a comparison to the other 2. I would recommend you try to buy one at a store locally and try it out for as long as you can return it. I bought the creative, didn't really like it, swapped for the archos.
Whatever you get, make sure you use it for at least a week or so and get used to the interface and the process of dumping media on it. I almost returned the archos after a few days because I was frustrated with some of the interface features. For one, it does NOT do music playlists without considerable effort. I don't care, because I use it for movies. There is also the issue of the addons which some people disagree with.
Now I have to go find a Cowon to play with. They look nice.
Edit: Just saw the ability to add on TV reciever. That would be a very tempting trade for the wifi on my archos... I could be convinced to give it a shot.
Whatever you get, make sure you use it for at least a week or so and get used to the interface and the process of dumping media on it. I almost returned the archos after a few days because I was frustrated with some of the interface features. For one, it does NOT do music playlists without considerable effort. I don't care, because I use it for movies. There is also the issue of the addons which some people disagree with.
Now I have to go find a Cowon to play with. They look nice.
Edit: Just saw the ability to add on TV reciever. That would be a very tempting trade for the wifi on my archos... I could be convinced to give it a shot.