The headphone plug is a weak spot, in any mp3 player, cell phone, etc., because it gets a lot of use. A surprising amount of force is applied by leverage from the plug, particularly if it’s a straight plug as Tapeworm said.
Whatever you get as your next player, you’ll just have to treat it gently. For what it’s worth, my Fuze went 2 years plus without headphone jack problems despite daily use. I finally replaced it a couple of months after the little nub snapped off the power switch–got tired of starting it with a penpoint.
