I'm sad - my iPod shuffle is wearing out

The earphone connector is getting flaky. When I plug in the phones, only one ear comes on. If I fiddle around with the connector where it goes into the iPod, pulling it out about 1/16" and twisting it this way and that, I can get both channels working. But it's getting harder and harder to get a full connection. I know it's the iPod itself and not the earphones because I have THREE different sets of phones. I can no longer use my favorite one, the Song Sling where the earphones are built into the lanyard.

Okay, I use it almost every day, but shouldn't something like this last longer than 7 months?

I'd been thinking of getting a full-blown iPod with a screen and all, maybe even the new nano. But if the quality is so shoddy that it doesn't even last a year, I'm not sure I want to get any deeper into this technology. Anybody with iPod products have any comments?