I see. Not bad, the deal you got then. Not bad at all. And if you'd rather not put anything on your iPod, then you'd rather only keep it until the next generation, I'm assuming? It will surely, with normal use, take some lumps. I'd say the screen isn't made to be as durable as the iPod touch or iPhone simply understanding the way Apple thinks. First, the screen on the iPone is made to withstand a lot of traffic, what with it being a touch screen and all. Second, the screen is the big deal with the iPhone, it's bigger, and is made to display. The iPod Classic is more or less made to play your music. Therefore, Apple could cut costs by simply only using an adequate screen. It won't have the traffic of the iPhone because, theoretically, there's no need to actually ever touch it, right? Also, the screen is smaller and the video and photo capabilities is, for the most part, just a novelty. Anyways, I'd be very careful with the carefree liberties you intend on taking with your new device. I can understand the intention to not put anything on it, and I can understand that in a couple months, you probably wouldn't even care about the scratches it has anyways. Eh, it's all relative, actually. I'd say there's no way you'll keep this thing for the duration of its life (say 3 years) without scratching the screen if you don't protect it with a film. My opinion.