I agree in part, as the issue that he has may be specific to his unit or settings. Just curious if all units are experiencing the same issue. I recall that he reported a flickering backlight which maybe more than a loose connection. If in fact this is the case it could easily be corrected with a firmware upgrade if necessary.
A significant amount of thought goes into the ordering of the selections on an album. The "flow" of the collection is very important to the presentation of the music. Producers and artists spend a considerable amount of time arranging that order, and even the varied amount of silence between the selections is carefully measured to maximize the musical experience for the listener. If, as austonia states, supported by the Gateway technician with whom he consulted, it is necessary to create a playlist for each of the hundreds of potential albums contained on a 20 gig HD, so as to have the tunes play in the order that was intended, it is, for sure, a PROBLEM.
Whether everybody listens to music the same way, or not, is hardly the issue. Nobody that I know willingly chooses to listen to a recording of material in alphabetical order. Why should the purchaser of a "moopod" have to go to the trouble of creating a playlist for each of the albums that they load to their DAP?
I was also surprised to note that, like the ipod, the Gateway player's battery is not replaceable. Will these guys be making another film?