It's the same resolution display in the Mini Retina and the Air so the $100 gets you physically larger pixels. It is an interesting line-up for sure (also that the Air is the big and heavy model...).

On a tablet, bigger doesn't equal better, and a very common sentiment is that the Mini is the ideal size, with the iPad full-sized being unwieldy for many uses (any situation where you hold it in your hand). So I'm not ignoring screen size, but quite contrary am saying that smaller, in this case, for many purposes == better. Obviously that is to a point, but for common uses the iPad Mini is very close to perfect.

To put it another way, now that Apple has equalized the hardware (same resolution, processor, accouterments), they could legitimately pitch the Mini as the more expensive, premium device (fitting more capabilities in a smaller space). Of course they couldn't only because they originally intro'd the mini as the discount device, but had they not it would be a legitimate angle.

The full-sized iPad is still a must if you want to use it to read PDFs (eg, tabletop RPG books), but otherwise I'd agree that the Mini is generally a more attractive option.

They are pixel to pixel the same in display so it really does not make much of a difference--no more of a difference than reading glasses would make at least. In your case perhaps that's worth the $100 and extra bulk, but you can tell where Apple thinks the future is.

The iPad Air is insanely light, which might change the equation. Based on weight, I might pick the Mini over the old full-sized iPad despite preferring a larger display. Now, all bets are off.

But the iPad Air is still 40% heavier than the Mini. When you're holding it in your finger, the larger length levers it to feel much heavier from an angular pressure perspective.

It is an amazing device in either form, it just seems like at most they should be the same price when the more compact variant is every bit as capable.

If you think the 8" screen is big enough then sure. But I happen to like the larger display. Could Apple charge more for the iPad Mini based on some kind of "smallness premium"? Well, in general 7" tablets are selling for dirt cheap, so it wouldn't play well.

You'll see the mix of iPad sales tilt back to the iPad Air after the next quarter. iPad Mini will still sell more but that % of sales will drop. The big reason why most people got iPad Mini over iPad was because the iPad was just way too heavy to hold compared to the Mini, that's not an issue anymore.

Very true, but it still feels reasonable to me for the larger version, which is likely more expensive to create, to be priced higher, even if more people genuinely prefer the smaller size regardless of price.