The bigger battery life convinced me that the XL would be better while I was searching stuff.
I think, if I am going to buy one I'll wait until the Fire Emblem 3DS XL bundle is available in North America.
Also I read MH3 doesn't have online co-op so waiting for MH4, which does, will be fine with me.
I'll keep playing my gba emulator to see if that will satisfy my hunger.