Do Podcasts Kill iPod Flash Drives?

Flash drives have a large but finite number of writes that can be performed. According to GetUSB.info, SLC flash memory has about 100,000 write cycles while MLC flash memory has about 10,000 write cycles.

So, let's say you write 2000 songs to a nano or touch (or iPhone). At let's assume you rotate a combination of 50 podcasts, TV shows, and other transient media files (files that do not stay permanently on the iPod) per week. That adds up to about 2600 writes per year over and above song files that may be more-or-less permanent (except on iPod shuffles were playlists probably rotate songs and create write cycles more frequently). Even if the lower life cycle MLC type is used, the flash drive should last about 3 years. If the more durable SLC type is used, the non-replaceable battery will die long before the flash memory burns through its maximum life cycle.

Given these assumptions, I'm not going to worry too much about moving podcasts in and out of my flash based iPod.