And it's made by Creative.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/12/08/creative.video/index.html

I don't think it's really the first competitor, is it? There were other video players on the market before the iPod certainly (like Archos and even the PSP).

However this might not bode well for the company's future... this doesn't sound like a viable long term stategy for a small company.

In a bid to improve its position, Creative embarked on a strategy of cutting prices, increasing advertising spending and offering retailers rebates for selling some its MP3 products.
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Despite a boost in sales, Creative reported an 85.5 percent drop in net profit in its first financial quarter to September compared to the previous's year's quarter.

Iriver has had video players out for over a year. I got one last Christmas for my niece. They have both linux and winmedia compatible ones, with larger HardDrives.

check out iriveramerica.com

Ah guys... I saw a Creative device in May of 2004. I think it may have been first. They were showing it at WinHEC as part of the Windows Media display and I thought it was to start shipping in the fall of 2004. If they were late, I missed it. The new one is a similar form factor as the iPod.

I remember that one from Creative. Poor build quality sunk it real fast.

are these even actually competitors? the success of these products will follow the ipod's success, not the other way around, at least in the near- to mid-term future.

it's called "podcasting" and not "zencasting" for a reason. although, personally, i'm kind of partial to "zencasting....."

"first" and "better" don't mean anything in the tech space. just ask apple! if anyone would know....