Originally posted by thibs
High end P&S? Does such thing exist?

I know it exists but most people do not. Moreover, having a P&S which cost 300+ euros is not serious at all, I mean, such an expensive camera has to be bigger don't you think?
Ok, this is BS but most people will react that way

Ok, point taken
I think that the thing people wany most from a camera is good photos; it seems obvious, but it's easily forgotton. My other half has a Panasonic P&S with 28-486mm equiv Lica lens on it. Suffice to say that the pictures are very very good!
Now suppose she wants more control over focus and depth of field, she's going to either step up to a m4/3 Panasonic, or a Canon/Nikon. Pentax isn't the obvious upgrade, nor is it the cheapest upgrade.
Pentax need to make a **really** cheap entry level k-mount dSLR camera to capture these upgraders who just want a big P&S with proper controls! Once they've bought into the system, they'll want the next model up... that's where Canon have been really successful.