Feature Design or Experience Design?

SanDisk has announced a new MP3 player, which Eric Bone, SanDisk’s director of consumer products marketing, feels can eat into Apple’s core.

SanDisk is already the No. 2 player in the MP3 space.

SanDisk’s Sansa e200 Series

In my opinion, what will keep SanDisk a distant second at best is they are trying to fight Apple on the feature front.

What sells the iPod is not features. Competitors like Rio, Creative Labs, Samsung, Motorolla, and Sony have been rediscovering this annually for years. SanDisk will discover it too.

What sells the iPod is the experience. The combination of iPod/iTunes/iTunes Music Store, plus the fashion statement Apple has made with the products, has created and maintained its dominance.

Owning the latest iPod is a source of pride for people. They take it out and show it to their friends, much like a new parent shows off their infant. Ooohs and aaahs follow. Envy results.

The experience of owning something others really desire is a key component.

We’ll have to see what SanDisk’s strategy is for getting these key experience elements to the surface. Then, and only then, do I think they’ll have a chance of eating anything substantial away from Apple’s solid lead in the personal audio device marketplace.