What's the difference between a certificate and a certification?

Short answer: A certificate delivers training and tests the attendee's understanding of the training content, while a certification is a formal assessment of the candidate's understanding of industry-accepted practices. Certificates are inseparable from the training; certifications are independent of any particular course of training.

Longer answer: ANSI defines a certificate as "nondegree-granting education or training program consisting of (1) a learning event or series of events designed to educate or train individuals to achieve specified learning outcomes within a defined scope, and (2) a system designed to ensure individuals receive a certificate only after verification of successful completion of all program requisites including but not limited to an assessment of learner attainment of intended learning outcomes." (ANSI E269-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs).
ISO 17024 describes certification as "one means of providing assurance that the certified person meets the requirements of the certification scheme. Confidence in the respective certification schemes is achieved by means of a globally accepted process of assessment, subsequent surveillance and periodic re-assessments of the competence of certified persons."
More simply, a certificate program teaches a particular set of content and then tests the attendee's understanding of that content. A certificate can cover whatever the organization wants it to cover, in whatever fashion, and using whatever terminologies and/or methodologies seem appropriate. A certification tests a candidate's existing knowledge and expertise and is baseed on accepted industry standard practices for specific tasks associated with a specific role.
See http://www.acac.org/forms/otherpdfs/NOCA%20Article%203-09.pdf  and http://cfre.org/certificate-vs-certification.html for some additional examples.

Does the CIP compete with the CRM (or PMP, or CDIA+, etc.)?

To some extent, insofar as no one person or organization has unlimited resources to spend on every certification in the book. But most of the certifications in the marketplace today focus on very deep coverage of a very narrow area. A Project Management Professional knows a lot about project planning and execution - but may not know very much about how to capture and maintain project artifacts over time. Similarly, a Certified Records Manager knows a great deal about retention schedule development and vital records, but may have little exposure to other information-related systems and concerns. The Information Certification, in contrast, targets those professionals who have to interact with those highly specialized roles. It's a very broad certification that assesses understanding of a variety of information-related technologies and processes. As such, it is very complementary to more focused certifications and allows an information professional to demonstrate both deep expertise in a specific area and a broader understanding of how it relates to other areas. 

How was the exam developed?

AIIM developed the exam according to the requirements set out in ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons, and best practices for developing a formal certification program. In brief, the process looked like this:

1. We conducted market analysis and developed a very rough draft of what the exam should cover.

2. Subject matter experts (SMEs) reviewed and revised the exam outline.

3. The SMEs then developed task statements and knowledge statements for each domain and focus area.

4. The SMEs then assigned weights to each section of the exam. The combination of the outline, the weighting, and the knowledge statements was then approved as the exam blueprint.

5. The SMEs wrote exam questions for each area of the exam. As questions were written, different SMEs reviewed the questions for wording, completeness, and accuracy.

6. The SMEs reviewed every approved exam question to assess its difficulty, a process known as Angoff scoring.

7. The questions were incorporated into two exam forms according to the weights assigned and the relative difficulty assigned through the Angoff scoring exercise. The exam forms were then statistically measured to ensure comparable difficulty between them.

8. AIIM developed the rest of the certification program - eligibility, the appeal and decertification processes, the candidate agreement, the AIIM and Prometric web pages, the continuing education program, this FAQ, and so forth.

9. The exam went live on September 23, 2011. 

Is the exam accredited? 

The Information Certification has not gone through a formal accreditation process. It was however developed according to ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons. At some point it is likely that the Information Certification will undergo ISO or similar accreditation.

Who wrote the exam questions?

The exam questions were developed by a number of independent subject matter experts from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds, and organizations, many of whom hold professional certifications in their areas of expertise.

When will the exam be updated? 

The exam will be updated as changes in business processes and technologies warrant, but AIIM plans to review the exam blueprint for validity at least every three years.