Once a year, we get a chance to put two longtime heavyweight rivals in the ring in a fight for portable media player supremacy. The history of Zune versus iPod Prizefights is long and bloody, filled with enough cutting criticism to send devout fans on both sides of the ring into fits.

This year's iPod vs. Zune Prizefight is more closely matched than ever, showcasing a Zune HD that has been pleasantly surprising critics from all over the tech world, and a third-generation iPod Touch that is known more for what it doesn't have (a camera) than for the few new features it brings.

As always, our Prizefight judges are some of CNET's most opinionated when it comes to portable media players. So strap yourself in, suspend your own judgments for a few minutes, and let our CNET editors do the work for you as they argue over which device is worth your money.