dave I can tell you've never held or seen a nano and a NW-A1000 (catchy name lol) side by side. Nano weights 42g compared to 109g that nearly triple the weight. If it was comparable then it would be 50g wouldn't it. It's also nigh on three times as thick 6.9mm nano compared to a comparitively chunky 18.7mm. Also, one of the biggest plus point Sony players have over the pods is there tremenduos battery life but with this model they are starting to slip, why has the playback time gone down to 20hr?, that's with Atrac 3 so how many hours do you have to knock off for the filesharers format of choice mp3?.
I would say the vast majority of people buying for style would immediately go for the nano if they saw them both in the shop, especially if they whacked the screens on and saw the nano running with some nice album art or whatever. I doubt they would before looking at what guts the Sony player has, they would more than likely buy the nano straight away if they had the cash. Guess Sony better try again because these juggernauts aint gonna damage Apple a bit.