Cheers.
I'd agree with you that generally, new products are becoming worse and worse in this way, just look at the huge number of XBox 360s that have packed-in just after the year warranty's expired (there have even been court cases regarding this). It happened to a friend's power supply.
The iPod however is a tricky one. I definitely wouldn't say that the electronics themselves are "built to fail", but what I would say is that Apple is deliberately using very soft plastic and metal for the cases so that people with scratched ones buy a newer model. The fragility of the surface of the iPod's case is unforgivable. I'm just glad to see that the new Shuffles / Nanos don't suffer from the same thing.
I really do baby my iPod but it's still got fine scratches all over it despite the fact that I wouldn't even put it down on a worktop/desk without something soft underneath it to protect the finish. This is as I said, unforgivable in my opinion, especially since the iPod cost me £310 new. It's defiitely the worst part of buying an iPod.
I hope that when the 6G's released, they've toughened-up the finish of the materials used to withstand normal use.
The second worst part of owning an iPod though can be even more annoying: The restrictions on freely moving files from device to device. Why can't I dock a friend's iPod and put some of their songs on my iTunes Library? This is copyright protection gone waaaay too far. It's like region settings on DVD players / games consoles; why do we let industries get away with this?