I have a "disorder" so to speak. i love my gadgets and cant stand the TINIEST of scratches... whether its my laptop, phone, camera or now the itouch.
crazy as it may sound, i often check my gizmos in different kinds of lights to see if they've been scratched. however i do take extremely good care of them and so there arent too many scratches. many of my toys are immaculate.
coming to your question... i bought the touch a few weeks ago and obviously im obsessed.
i dont have a case/protective cover yet but i take the utmost care and precautions like "resting" it only on a soft surface etc.
inspite of all the care, there are quite a few "minor" scratches, which ####ed me off. i take great care, so i probably never will find out the effects of a 1 or 2 foot drop onto a hard surface.
but yeah, it is delicate.. the underbelly is soft, and it is very easily scratchable.