the only thing stopping me from buying a mini right now is the lack of a retina display. i hope i won't have to wait till 2014
It's not that bad... I use mine more than the full sized one due to the smaller size, and weight. It's perfectly usable to me. The way iPad's retain their resale value, and 'Gosh, thanks' re-gifting potential, you couldn't go wrong buying one now IMO... Especially if you don't have an iPad now.