—> Buy a warranty on a new, untested, fragile, break-prone technology, writes in Consumerist tipster Zoe, and you could find yourself essentially leasing the newest, sexiest gadget every nine months for the rest of your life. While hardly a revelation, it's nice to see some areas where the customer still has the upper hand.

Four years ago she bought two Creative Zen 40GBs for under $300 apiece, along with a 2-year Replacement Plan for $40.

Both players broke, from the same faulty headphone jack. She mailed the player to Best Buy who sent her back a voucher for the full amount.

This time she got a Rio and a new two-year plan. In due course, the player's hard drive failed.

She handed it in and "grudgingly" settled on a fourth-generation iPod which lasted for 18 months until the battery life went south and the click wheel stopped responding.

Yesterday she took the iPod in to a Best Buy and got herself a new one with a fresh warranty.

And wouldn't you know it, but they play video now!

Sincerely,

Zoe