One would assume it will support music-synchronized animations like the car unit?

While these would be slick eye candy, they would most definitely come at the price of battery life, which in my HD-based-portable experience (the Riot mostly) is the premium commodity--even over disk space. My usage has the player in my pocket (not looking at fancy graphics) and hoping the tunes keep playing until I get to my next charging opportunity.

Here's hoping they crush the ipods!
- Tim