The iPad has ben a far bigger hit than I would have anticipated, but having used one for the past several months I understand why. The touch interface is natural to use and easily grasped by even technophobes, and the large screen makes for a more pleasant reading and browsing experience than the iPhone. Furthermore, it’s light weight, compact form factor, and impressively long battery life make it more natural for using as a content viewer than a laptop.

But it’s not perfect.

A few things Apple needs to tackle for the next iPad:

• front facing camera – this would make a great FaceTime device, though the will be more risk of the lack of perceived eye contact that comes from the distance between the camera and screen. This will be there, no question.
• lighter weight – even though it’s considerably lighter than most laptops, the iPad still feels heavy, because it looks like you should be able to comfortably hold it in one hand. You can hold it in one hand, but I wouldn’t say it’s comfortable.
• higher resolution screen – the screen looks downright pixelated, especially in contrast to the amazing iPhone 4 retina display.
• Lower price – competitors will arrive sooner or later, and the will be cheaper. Unless Apple goes for the kill with volume pricing.

I’m not sure if all this will be possible with one device – it sounds like there may be a potential split in the line with two different sized devices, perhaps with other differentiators. I don’t yet have a sense of what a 7 inch iPad would be like, but it might work if it came along with a lighter weight and the same overall resolution.