It has a durable alloy backing or whatever....Maybe you should hold out for the Samsung galaxy tab....You could also try working out and building a little muscle..The kindle? He'll you're better off with the current crappy android tablets.
It depends what you need the iPad for. if it's for reading books then I agree it's too big and heavy. But if I was going to just read books then the Kindle is not exactly my idea of a solution. I loaded Kindle on my iPhone and quite frankly that is ideal for me. I've read more books in the last 6 months than I have in he last 6 years. That's because it's so convenient, you always have it with you. I've had the iPad for a week and I'm more and more thinking that Apple got it right on the size. if the target market is between the phone and the your laptop then it can't be bigger or smaller. it's way more useful than the netbooks. I can see when the magazine industry understands how to showcase their product better there will be more reasons for the iPad. If Apple is smart, they should encourage apps that provide better communication with the PC world. I know you Apple diehards don't care about the "Dark side" but that is the growth opportunity. I've been using PC's since I left Apple with the 1st MAC but they have got me back with the iPhone and now the iPad. I don't have a choice in business world but provide suitable functionality in the iPad and it works for me.
If you are used to reading paperbacks, it is probably to heavy. But I have many books which are much heavier than the iPad.
It's lighter than any laptop I've ever had. If you bought it for reading books, perhaps you over-purchased. The Kindle 3 is not the same thing as an iPad. If that would satisfy you more, then you should go with it. My iPad is a computer, not a book reader. That's just fine with me, too.
The only time I notice it being 'too heavy' was when I asked myself, "why didn't they at least put a camera in the front?" It would be pretty tiresome after awhile to hold it up towards your face for facetime chat, but then again there's always the "get a stand/case to hold it up for you" argument. But yeah that's the only time I thought I would 'complain' about the weight. I'm sorry that you're returning it because of the weight it really is a great device!
Umm...? MTFU? That's my only suggestion.. Sorry Seriously though, if you're only using it to read ebooks, then buy a kindle. If you want to use it for anything else - deal with the weight. The simple fact is that you can't currently make it significantly lighter, while keeping the same screen size/battery life currently. That's just the way things are. (Tm)
I agree with the OP, the iPad is too heavy to hold in your hand and read for very long. I use my iPad sitting on a table/desk, never hold it in my hand like a book. Admittedly, I have small/weak wrists. If I want a book reader to hold in my hand, I would go with the lightest one available.