The iPod has so much going for it - the cleaner looks, the larger colour screen, the larger capacity, but it's just too fragile. My iPod mini is the most robust piece of gadgetry I've ever owned. The adonized aluminum shell never cracks, gets scratched, or break. In upcoming 5G iPods, Apple needs to ditch the crappy two-piece shell of the iPod (the plastic and stainless steel back scratch far too much, and the back also dents very easily) and expand the adonized aluminum across the entire iPod line. When I hold a regular iPod in my hand it feels like it could fall apart if I dropped it two feet onto a pillow. The iPod mini, however, is strong and solid. I've dropped mine numerous times. The worst I've gotten is a tiny, miniscule chip in the aluminum on the corner. Had I dropped a regular iPod in the same circumstances onto its corner, the metal backing would be dented, and the white plastic around the front would be cracked.
I'd go with a 6GB mini for now, until the 5G iPods come out.