what about when USB 3.0 becomes the standard...? ;)

Hmmm..IF I were living in the EU(which I'm not...I'm between NJ and NY)I could still do as I do now...Sansa Fuze(or iPod video 60gb)+Line-out dock+amp...then I could crank my music as much as I need/want to. Remember, some cans need heavy amping to put out a lot of sound.

Even if they do hook up w/Sandisk, it still won't take much of a chunk out of Crapple....even though it will be more storage AND features for less, iSheep just see something NOT Apple, and completely ignore it...

And this is coming from someone who owns a Fuze and a Cowon D2 :D

"And include an SD slot so I can pull the photos off to any pc."
That will never happen....if you want a music player with expandable storage, get a Sansa, or a Creative player, or a Cowon D2.
Apple won't do it, because consumers want something ridiculously thin, and an SD/micro-sd card slot adds to thickness.
Oh yea...not to mention the fact that if they come out with a 64gb touch...why bother? If you have a 32gb touch, you can buy a 32gb SD-HC card for likely less than the difference of the higher capacity(64gb) version. That's why I have a Sansa Fuze...I got the 4gb version, and I doubled the storage(with a 4gb micro-SDHC card) for a mere $10.

WiFi on around a 2" low-res display? Really? -_-

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the 5th gen nano/3rd gen touch DO get a camera. Now everyone will start using them to upload low quality pics of themselves to social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, myspace...for those who still use it)....just like iPhone users do.
Honestly, I have a Sansa Fuze, and I'm very happy with it. The only way Sandisk could make me like it more is if:
1)They revamped the ~3 year old OS(OR someone could make a rockbox port)
2)Allow a firmware update(which Sandisk usually has) that allows gapless playback
3)Allow a folder browsing function.
If it had all these, it'd be PERFECT for me.
Oh yea, one thing the Fuze does that Apple would NEVER do....expandable storage. The Fuze does it via a micro-sd card slot. This would hypothetically work on an iPod, BUT they don't....because they can make something with another 8gb or 16gb every year, and capitalize off the people who have to have the newest thing(even if it's only a storage bump) year after year.

My 2 month old enV2 just stopped functioning last week...I tried charging it and everything...
I could use this.

The C710's look JUST like the C452's
I had C551's, but I just replaced them with NuForce NE7m's...the C551's sounded good, but they just didn't fit great...
and before you question me, I know how to get headphones to seal...NE7m's seal well, C551's don't....

If you want a removable battery+expandable memory, just get a Sansa E200 series
and then again, make an "open letter" to apple...they've been that way FOREVER.

Apple will NEVER do that.
Most Sansa products do though :) My Fuze has a micro SD card slot, I have 4gb in it right now.
Remember, Apple consumers want a product as thin as possible with nothing to ruin the lines except a headphone jack and usb slot.

Or you could get an 4gb sansa clip at best buy for around $60...AND it has a screen and mini-USB. And if you search well enough, you can find an 8gb online(amazon maybe) for about the same price as this Shuffle.