Personally, I think iPods are junk. I own a 4th gen mini and the screen has quickly burned out in the corners after about a year. The click wheel is often very unresponsive, even though I've been very tender with it for all of its life. The battery life is a joke, and the fact that it's filing system is proprietary to iTunes completely irritates me. I think apple should focus on their excellent pcs and leave the mobile music industry to companies like Creative and Sony. Apple has definitely helped the industry a lot with their serious competition and innovative ideas, hence the further development of our current technology with portable audio/video devices. However, there are much better products for your buck than the iPod. Check out the iAudio X5. It has many more features than the new video iPods and, personally, does not pose nearly as close a resemblence of commercial monopoly as Apple.
