Pause for a moment to think about why the stuff from Apple is so desirable. From the iPod to the MacBook Air, it’s not just the product per se, but the experience. That’s all there is to it and the iPod demonstrates this perfectly.

The iPod which allows you to save up to a staggering 40,000 songs (depending on the model) serves as a good paper weight after 18 months as that’s about as long as the batteries that cannot be swapped out, lasts. (Thanks to the Neistat Brothers for sharing the Ipod’s Dirty Secret. Watch their movie on it here.) And even after the PR fallout of that - and that we need to fork out more cash for a warranty extension, we just can’t get enough of it.

Is this the truly superior MP3 player in the market? Clearly not. But it is peerless when you factor in the experience of owning one. From its finish (which as all owners know takes zero effort to get scratched and spawned an entire industry dedicated to coming up with products to protect it) to the fiendishly intuitive clickwheel, it is the MP3 player to have. Apple clearly understood that it’s not a product it needs to deliver but the experience.

This post Sony Had It. Apple Took It. on BusinessWeek’s NEXT blog covers the topic of experience versus artefacts with reference to a talk given by former Blackberry/Motorola designer, Fred Tyneski. Fred Tyneski said Sony who invented the Walkman and own Sony BMG should have cornered the music playing and listening market. But according to Tyneski, Sony delivered artefacts instead of positioning itself as a provider of experience.

So while Sony and perhaps every other contender vying for the MP3-player throne focussed on the product, Apple instead focussed on and put its trust in design, knowing that ultimately, it will set its products apart from the rest of the pack and deliver an experience that is hard to beat. Until today, that is truly the (unassailable) position of the iPod and proof that brand experience is everything.

Read related post, Experience, Not Identity.