The Creative Vision M, in my opinion, is a superior product to the ipod. It has more versatility with file formats (.wma, divx, xvid, more...), has a better screen, FM tuner, charges faster, and with an accessory cable you can hook it up to any TV and view your video just as you would with a VCR, DVD player, or Digital camcorder. It also comes in cheaper @ $180 at
www.buy.com or if you're up to a challenge you can get it for $167 @ Circuit City using methods that can be found on
www.slickdeals.net.
The main knocks against it are lack of iTunes support(understandable---not that I personally am a fan of it, though it "just works"), and it is thicker than the equivalent ipod..