NO, it's not true. Many people have had thier iPods since day one and havn't had a single problem. Just because one iPod has a problem, dosn't mean they all do.
Also, if your Pod dose end up with a dead battery and it's out of warrenty, you can pay $99 to get a new battery, or buy one yourself and replace it.
Also, the iPod dose not support WMA, so Napster or any other service dosn't work on the iPod. iTunes does work with the iPod. Also, set the iPod Options to 'Manually Update Songs' so it won't erase songs every time you hook it up to a computer.
Also, my iPod lasts the whole 8-9 hour trip from Cleveland to Richmond. Make sure not to skip around the songs (it spins the hard drive), don't use the backlight excessively, and don't use the Sound Check & EQ to improve battery life. If you only get 2 hours, I think you might want to get it checked out. That's WAY to short.