i didn't even bother to click on the link because i know that irivers are boring and lame. not only is the os and ui a pile of crap, but the quality of its parts isn't as good as ipod's. this iriver has different codecs than the ipod because it's meant to do something different. for example, you wouldn't really need ac3 or xvid codecs for an ipod (not sure if they're in the iriver pmp or not, but i'm just trying to make a point). so, using codecs in the argument is moot. overall, the ipod's easier to use and, to someone who hates windows media player for music purposes and very much favors itunes, ipod's the way to go. this iriver doesn't have firewire support, it's got a shorter battery life, and we all know that the internal speaker will just crap out like every internal speaker does. the ipod also has way more file support... mp3, acc, protected acc, wav, bmp, png, tiff, etc (with more to come, with the 5th generation hopefully being revealed this week). the pmp only supports mp3, jpg, mpeg4, wmv, and wma... hardly worthy of getting excited. also, by the looks of this thing, it'll get scratched up like a sticker of a fruit in a kindergarten class.
also, like i said, apple's coming out with a new ipod this week that will play videos.
this just seems to be one of those matter-of-opinion deals about quality vs quantity/dollar. in my opinion, apple makes better products than iriver. i'd rather wait for apple to come out with a sweet ipod with video capability than blow $200 i could have spent on an ipod on an iriver (which will probably just clunk-out in a matter of months, anyway). but, like i said, it's a matter of opinion.
and, i'm not ignorant. i'm informed and armed with my opinion based on the information acquired. therefore, calling me ignorant is ignorant. until iriver puts out a product that is high quality with more file compatibility, a longer battery life, better ergonomics, a better os, and a better user interface, i'm sticking with the ipod trend (this coming from a guy who pretty much hates all trendy). i beg for companies to put out something better than the ipod, but it's just way too hard to do whenever apple puts out such legit products on a relatively consistant basis.
i, actually, was really interested in the iaudio x5l for a little bit... up until the point where i read more about it's capabilities and support.
bottom line, if you're into this thing, get it... it's $200. if you're not sure, wait a month and see what's up between this and the 5th gen. ipods.
EDIT: oh, and with the ipod, you've got podcasting.