This reminds me of my "dilemma" when 15" rMBP came out. Of course, it was much easier by process of elimination given my needs.
I was hoping we would have seen 13 and 15 retina MBP released at the same time mid summer, and maybe if not full blown "retina" Airs an IPS or resolution bump of sorts. Alas, when 2012 MBA was just MagSafe 2, USB 3 (would be nice with a 3TB USB 3 external I bought, but not a deal breaker just for storing media), and Ivy Bridge the more efficient and slightly faster version of Sandy Bridge based on similar architecture, I decided I am more than alright with my 2011 MBA especially with Samsung SSD and screen built in, seems to be a crap shoot. Though, I don't find an issue with LG screens, but I would definitely prefer to have the fastest SSD over Toshiba. Plus, I like the updated but not 2.0 MagSafe.
Retina was very tempting, but I already did the whole 15" thing once or twice with pre-unibody and unibody, then went 13" MBP, then decided once I've gone razor thin for travelling, there is no looking back. 13" rMBP is still tempting, but I don't want to sell my machine for a severe loss and get that only to be screwed when 2nd gen comes out. Plus, even though its thin, one's perception of thin is different when you have an Air.
All that, plus the fact I am travel-oriented and when not travel oriented use my laptop hooked up to a 24" display, I might not see the retina benefits nearly as much over the cons.
With this, it really is a toss up. My near perfect iPad3 screen (and perfect after Color Profiles jailbreak tweak) is the best screen I have in my house. It's a great reference monitor for photographs as I love photography. I said when I got this thing earlier in the year that it was worth at least $400 or so alone to me for that display and its accuracy/amazing-ness.
Now that I've used mini for a few days, the iPad feels like a dinosaur of sorts. But I still can't discredit that retina even though I long to have my cake and eat it too.
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I can hold mine for hours just fine. *shrug*
Exactly why you should return the current one and just sit this round out. You clearly are not and never will be satisfied with either.
Big difference between returning for QC issues and returning perfectly good devices due to indecisiveness.
These are things that should be painfully obvious in store, prior to purchase. It's not hard to decide if 1.4 pounds and the form factor are absolutely horrible before shelling out 900 bucks, nor should it take buying it and bringing it home to realize the screen on the mini doesn't cut it. These things are readily apparent, and easily noticeable within the first minutes of playing with either device in store.
Sitting the round out sounds like something the OP doesn't want to do though. That's like telling somebody "get an android" when they complain their iPhone screen has some inherent flaws. It's not a viable solution offered.
...but iPad 3 might be a happy compromise for waiting it out that was my original plan before getting sucked into the mini for its convenience and now I don't think I can return it and go back to strictly the big iPad.
Also, returning a device multiple times due to QC (over things like the screen quality, where the device still functions perfectly but it's not nearly as enjoyable because you are staring at the achilles heel of it, might be deemed "buyers remorse" instead of being a DOA unit) and indecision may be different to you, and maybe even myself, but by the end of the day that is inventory that will have to be refurbished or at least cannot be resold brand new-in-box, and an additional product is being opened up/taken out of storage.
People changing their mind on colors, wifi vs cellular, GB options is not uncommon at all. So being indecisive over which product line when there's a lot of overlap in both is not unforeseen either. That's why return policies are in place "no questions asked" not "interrogation time."
The weight of iPad might not seem like much to one, but I promise you, it does feel heavier wielding it in the air for 45 minutes while laying in bed vs picking it up and getting a feel for it for 5 seconds in the store. In the same way, I'm sure 99% of displays look absolutely perfect under bright lightings in a retail store, but when you're at home and that's all you're seeing is the screen and its backlight staring you down at night, that's when the multiple hue/backlight bleed issues come out. Bright lights fill in all the flaws.
... This is all just IMO.
But definitely loosen up a little, have more turkey & stuffing, and be kinder to your fellow anonymous MacRumorers. You make it sound like you're running a mums and pops shop and Anti-Lucifer is Lucifer, sitting in a corner thinking of ways to drive your small business into oblivion.
