I have to give you that, not everything in the world can be solved by having a lowercase i on it. The battery life problems are indeed real. If you think that 9 hours is good, then you're a pessimist. My 3 year old mp3 cd(oh gawd, he's so behind!) runs a good 15-20 hours. The better flash players run a hefty 26 hour time. Not to mention the newer mp3 cd players that have a 50+ hour runtime.
The battery problem is really more pertinent to the older ipod generations (up till the fourth). They really do die out, providing only about 2-3 hours of play after 1 or 2 years.
Still, it's a great device, and if your can shell out a little more for it, then do it. It looks nice and it works nicely, too.