Critics and users have always touted the iPod's clickwheel interface for it simplicity, which we loved because it was accessible through the sleeve case that comes with the player. It's not the best case in the world, but it's free, effective and doesn't inhibit your view of the screen like some other mostly transparent cases. With a fully touch-screen interface, users will actually have to take the player out of its case to switch tracks, which can be a real pain in the ass if you're at the gym—or worse, driving.

The most likely solution Apple can offer is a headphone-jack remote like those that were offered up until the 5G iPods dropped. It seems like a reasonable solution, but the older remotes were plagued by inconsistent performance and added way too much length to some already-too-long headphone cords. Plus, many of the remotes just plain quit working well before the iPod it came with gave up the ghost, leaving some people to shell out $40 bucks for a new one. It's not really simplifying if you're just moving the buttons up onto the cord.

Vide-oh God, this is taking forever to convert:

More screen is almost always a good thing, so we can't take that away from it. But the fact is that there's almost zero chance Apple is ever going to give in and support DivX, Xvid or any of those other formats that all of your video is probably already in, so you're still going to have to convert any videos you hope to watch on your new device. Plus, all the old stuff you converted for your 5G iPod isn't going to be the right size, meaning that you'll either have to reconvert it or deal with it looking all compressed and crappy on your big fancy display. As much as we like cool-looking gadgets, we'd rather just have readily available, good-looking content, even if it means getting a device with a little less nerd cred.

Give 'em the finger:

Sure it'll come with a fancy wiping cloth, but there's no denying that the screen is going to get smudgy and gross after a while. It's been happening with the iPhone, and it'll happen here as well. Even if you keep it clean, you're still going to look fairly douchey busting out your little wipe every time you use your player. It also means that transparent cases are sort of obsolete. Cases are made to protect the precious screen from scratches, dirt and every other thing that makes watching videos on it suck. But that means you end up with a scratched, dirty piece of plastic that lives between your eyeballs and all of those legally purchased movies you're trying to watch.

Tactile feedback, please:

This one is purely a matter of preference, but from the arguments we heard about the iPhone (not from shills like mansion-dweller David Pogue [yes, we know we're shills, too, but at least we're honest about it]), we're not the only ones that appreciate the definite, reassuring click of a button being pressed.

One argument for the touch-screen model is that there are less moving parts, and thus will fail less. While that may be true in the long run, we haven't known iPods, and especially their batteries, to last long enough for the clickwheels to become a problem.

Successories:

If the iPhone is any indication, the full-touch-screen iPod might not be fully compatible with all the accessories you already own. For some gadgets that's not a big deal, but for a device as dependent on its peripherals as the iPod, it can be a big deal for your wallet.

Of course all of this is complete conjecture until the thing actually gets announced, but if everyone else can talk out of their asses about a device no one has actually ever seen, then why can't we? Now that we have that out of the way, who wants to talk about Zune 2.0?