I have a neighbor who is on her 3rd iPod.  Why? "The hard drive keeps dying".  Yes, she should sign up for the AppleCare progra, but the real culprit is how she uses it- she runs. A lot.  Truth be told, HD-based Portable Music Players just don't handle the g-shock of running very well. 

Enter Sony's new Walkman "Beans", three new flash-based players that look super-slick.  No mention of PlaysforSure support which has me wanting though- if they don't work with Yahoo's music service, MSN or Napster, count me out.  I hope Sony woke up and snuck a few podcasting features in like bookmarking.