I actually think the Vita is mostly fine, as is, although your attitude of it will vary based on what you want out of it.
If you don't use PSN and download things digitally, and basically only play AAA retail bought games, yes the thing is a dud. In other words, if your gaming appetite is basically Call of Duty, Assasins Creed, GTA, Uncharted , etc., stay away. Don't get me wrong, there are some games experiences like this on Vita, but the release schedule is too far and in between to keep you occupied.
However, if you like the more niche side of gaming like JRPGS and indie games, are fully invested in the Sony gaming ecosystem, also own ps3 (and plan to get ps4) buy often from PSN, are a PS plus member, this thing is excellent. You get most of the best parts of the PSP library (endless JPRGS!) cheap and available for download at a moments notice. All of the PSOne classics are now portable on it. PS Plus have given me a sizable library of free retail Vita games I can download anytime and play as long as im a member- I have access to many of the best retail games free through this. Indie games shine on this hardware, as they better lend themselves to being portable, and playble in shorter bite sized sessions. Plus my PS Plus membership got me 70% off of quite a few retail games I wanted, like Soul Sacrifice.
On top of it all, eventually the thing will be playing your ps4 games, streamed from your home console via the internet anywhere you go that has good enough internet, AND streaming PS3 games from the Gaikai service in a year or two.
As I said before, if you are "all in" with Sony's online offerings, Vita is great. Its really the ultimate companion piece to owning a Sony console.