Well, Jog, since the actual Pentax *cameras* don't necessarily fare as well by spinning specs and statistics as do some of the bigger brands, who can just claim they're 'the best' all they like, I don't think an Internet-only marketing scheme is *really* the best way for Pentax to get themselves positioned as a viable third-party alternative, when so much of the strengths of the products really *are* in how they feel, handle, the viewfinders, the ergonomics, the build quality and solidity you get for the money...
Pentaxes not being in the stores for people to handle, and get the word out, reduces them to being basically a bunch of numbers and thumbnail pictures, things to debate over, and thus too often push people to take a step down in quality and handling in hopes of being able to get something better in another system later.
As a Canon FD shooter, what digital SLR system I added to the stable was pretty much a wide-open field. Specs matter, but not as much as what I call 'interface,' what happens between my hands and eyes. The work I usually do doesn't require high performance or impressive features, but feel and controls are key. I want a machine that I can get to know so well I can expect to wake up in the next lifetime with my hands knowing how to level that baby.
Especially with the K-7, not that that isn't competitive on features with just about anything else, certainly for the money, the whole reason for the change in chassis is about that metal body and compactness and handling and quality. It's just words on the Net till someone handles one, though. Not that I have. But I know what a metal body feels like.
When I got my K20d, I'd never handled one. But I'd handled a K200d, and I figured if Pentax could do entry-level like *that* for feel, that, especially given I didn't have the extra grand for a d300 anyway, I could be reasonably-confident I'd like what they did with something a bit bigger.
And, how. When the K20 arrived, I was like, 'Ooh, now this is solid.'
Canikon fans may scoff, but if they just *hold* the thing, they respect that. Often with a note of surprise. You can't get that from viral marketing, you've got to put the product in someone's hands.
Pentax should take heed, and play to the strengths, not what some marketing hack says.
Also, photo retailers should realize that it's *in their best interest* to carry as many different brands as possible. The Canon/Nikon duopoly only makes their services less valuable than comparing two sets of specs on a screen. The more variety, the more someone wants to talk to a human being and touch the things, someplace where they are.