The dust has started to settle from Apple’s latest announcement of its iPad. There had been rumors of the device for months before its announcement. Now that it’s out, the iPad seems to be finding itself amidst a storm of underwhelmed, disappointed comments, most of which from folks who have not even held the actual device yet. The complaints are many: the iPad’s awkward size (not small enough to fit in your pocket, yet big enough to fit… in a laptop bag), low resolution LCD screen, lack of camera, and lack of support for Flash. In fact, the whole Flash debate has now bubbled over into a vicious mudslinging fest between Adobe and Apple. It’s not entirely clear who exactly Apple was targeting with the iPad. At first glance, it seems quite consumer oriented, yet with a newly redesigned suite of iWork applications optimized for the multi-touch UI, Apple is clearly not writing off the iPad as a business appliance.

That said, I think enough has been said for now about the iPad. So, I thought it would be fun to take a look back 9 years ago, to the launch of the iPod. Yes, the iPod, not the iPad. Turns out, when Apple announced their game-changing music player, it too was met with with a storm of underwhelmed, disappointed comments as well. In looking at this thread on MacRumors from 2001, here’s a list of my favorite complaints about the then-new iPod, and what we have learned since then.

hey – heres an idea Apple – rather than enter the world of gimmicks and toys, why dont you spend a little more time sorting out your pathetically expensive and crap server line up?

or are you really aiming to become a glorified consumer gimmicks firm?

Well, it looks like Apple clearly knew what they were doing when they chose to focus on the “consumer gimmicks” that they did. Sun has been extinguished, and Apple now sells 25% of all music in the US. That said, it’s interesting to consider that the hardware that Apple sells can actually be considered the “razor blade” in the classic “loss leader” business model, made famous by King Gillette. That is, the music & apps that you have are durable, and it’s your iPod/iPhone/iPad that you keep replacing. That’s not a bad setup for Apple, is it?

Firewire 400MB/s, iPod

USB 1.2MB/s, Archos

10 hour battery, iPod

8 hour battery, Archos

4.02″ x 2.43″ x 0.78″, iPod

4.5″ x 3.2″ x 1.3″, Archos

6.5oz, iPod

12oz, Archos

In reflecting on the success of the iPod in 2004, Jupiter Analyst Michael Gartenberg explained that the reason that the iPod succeeded wasn’t because it had the greatest battery life, largest capacity or smallest size, but rather, that it was able to make adequate compromises in each of those areas such that they were “good enough.” Compromise is a real part of the design equation, and it’s very easy to harp on a product when evaluating it on an absolute basis, but in practice, these concerns aren’t shared by many consumers.

Not exactly “revolutionary”. With the economy in its current state, You’ll be able to pick up MP3 players for peanuts soon. The Archos Jukebox does the same thing and it’s not blowing off the shelves either. $399 is just too much for an MP3 jukebox. Sorry Steve, this isn’t it…

With the launch of any new product, it’s easy to complain about the price being too high. Even though Apple beat the rumored price point of around $1,000, already, people are comparing the iPad to netbooks, which may have similar or cheaper price points.

I have no use for an Mp3 player.

My house has a CD player.

My car has a CD player.

My Mac has a CD player

I love this one. Has anyone seen a CD player lately?

In any case, I’m still on the fence as to whether or not the iPad is really a game changing product or not–only time will tell if Apple has a hit on their hands. That said, for me, it took Apple four years (with the launch of the Nano) to truly find a product that resonated. So, I’m looking forward to seeing how Apple will iterate the iPad (as it surely will). If widely adopted in the mainstream, it is likely that the iPad will make its way into the business world, much like the iPhone did. While the iPhone was once regarded as worse for business users than the Blackberry, IT departments are increasingly being to asked to provide IT support as these devices inevitably migrate from the home into the workplace.

(Dennis Yang is VP of product development at Floor64, publishers of Techdirt.)