LOL! I notice it's 'missing' a hard cover as well

What sort of sundry items do you keep in your pockets? I don't carry a bag, I do have a car (this is, in my opinion, irrelevant to the point about hardcovers :P) and my N800 has lived in my pocket for the past 11 months just fine. The key is in separating your goods—you don't put the sharp stuff with the expensive electronics. Keys, Leatherman and pen go in the left pocket, and the N800, the cellphone and (sometimes) the GPS go in the right. It's very clean and requires no hardcover at all!

I do something like that. I wear quality jeans, where quality = having a watch pocket. My cell phone and USB-sticks (flash drives and 802.11g) go in there. My — let me check... — 2 knives, multitool (Vise-Grip toolbox - sometimes joined by a Gerber), 4 mech. pencils, mech. eraser, and 6" scale go in my right front pocket, where nothing fragile goes. Keys and change go way down in the bottom of left front pocket, N800 (in sock) sits on top, when I'm carrying it in my pants pocket.
More often, at least this time of year, it rides in a jacket pocket by itself. It seems to be a reasonably rugged device, so it's not likely to be damaged this way.
Now with only one pocket, it could be a problem, but I can't afford enough hard, bangy gadgets to fill all my pockets and leave no place safe for the more refined gadgets.

*edit: Hedgecore mentioned bottle caps below. I throw them, and any other random junk, in my left hip pocket. Right hip pocket carries wallet, which contains a third knife.

Mildly off-topic, but how do you like the Gerber? I have a Charge Ti that's just fantastic (single-handed knife opening and an incredibly comfortable pliers grip), but I haven't had any opportunity to get my hands on a Gerber.

Right pocket = building swipe card, work swipe card w/drawer key, lighter, the odd bottle cap if I decided to put it in there in a haze, maybe a pen.

Left pocket = show flyers, band buttons, 770, the odd bottle cap if I decided to put it in there in a haze, misc interesting beer coasters, etc.

Not a lot, but most of the time I walk everywhere. On an average day where I'm wandering around I walk about 10-15km depending. I realize it'd be fine if it were in a hoodie or jacket pocket, but really. I want the protection and you guys can't take that away from me. All it takes is something stupid like a piece of gravel or road salt in your pocket and your screen is fubar.

Death to the Leathermans! Gerber akbar!

Well, I don't have much experience with the newer Leathermans. My kid brother has one with funny thumb-wheel blade locks, which hurt my thumbs. My dad has a Wave, which is OK, but the thing I like about the Gerber is the one-handed opening of the pliers. For me, the knife blade is probably the least-used tool on the Gerber. If I need a knife, I pull out one of my three folders, according to the task at hand. The Gerber's blade is half-serrated, which is occasionally useful, but usually one of my knives is a better fit. Since you didn't mention carrying a slew of knives, perhaps you're better off with something like the Charge, with handier knife blades and less handy pliers.

That said, I'm real happy with my Gerber (Pro-Scout 600). I like the file and scissors; both are the best I've seen in a multi-tool. The saw is nice, too: it holds a standard 1/4" jigsaw blade. Comes with a carbide grit blade, but you can get blades of all varieties at your local hardware store.
Grip is quite comfortable because of the way the sheetmetal is formed. The locks aren't the greatest in the world, but do the job.

One great thing about the Gerber is that, with a pair of pliers, you can adjust the tension, or even disassemble the pivots. Then, you can rearrange the tools that are there, swap them with other Gerbers, or replace them with your own. A hack-friendly multi-tool!

My main complaint with the Gerber is that the nylon sheath doesn't hold up well because of the way the tip of the pliers protrudes. It gets a hole in the bottom of the sheath after a couple months of belt carry. The pliers can also prematurely wear out pants pockets, if carried tip-down. I now carry it tip-up, and no more problems.