They say that the sincerest form of flattery is imitation, and if that is the case, then Steve Jobs and friends should be blushing 24 hours a day. The latest iPod lookalike comes by way of Taiwan from a little known electronics manufacturer called E-Lead. The company’s Mapod (it’s ma pod, not yo pod) doesn’t just do the usual music playback dance, but it also adds GPS functionality to keep you heading in the right direction (toward stores that will sell you more E-Lead products, of course).

The cloning process worked out quite well, complete with a click wheel for navigation. Based on the pictures provided, it seems that there is also a touchscreen interface on the 3.5-inch display. You’ll be able to rock your standard issue MP3s and take a gander at all your digital photographs, but while on the go, you can make use of the embedded GPS antenna (and an external one as well, it seems).

Internal memory maxes out at 512MB, so there’s a good chance you might want to throw an SD card in there as well. About the same size as the iPod Video, the E-Lead Mapod comes with a 1350mAh lithium-ion battery. No word on pricing or availability.