I love my Provaris, I have 4 of the full sized V2's. I thought about the colors but none of them really tickled my fancy enough to buy one. The V2.5 gives me even less reason to buy one. These are cosmetic decisions not device decisions, both on my part and ProVapes part.
I bought my first Provaris in March 2012, after vaping a year on Egos. I bought a few SB's at the same time. These days the SB is the least expensive of my US made devices, the Provaris up there with the Helixes on the high end.
I like both VV and mechanical mods. For me a 3.7 mod is good to go as I use LR atties. I don't absolutely have to have vv to get a good vape. If I want more voltage I stick a kick in.
Now the flood of China clones is here. Many of my friends bought into Vmax, Zmax, Sigelei, VAMO and extolled the virtues of vw vaping. I decided to try one this month and see what all the hoorah was about. I bought an inexpensive China made CVI. Nice oled, RMS, easy one button menu, nice looking, very lightweight as it is aluminum. Gorgeous shocking pink color. Cheap so I'm not out a lot if it fails or I don't like it. I was surprised that for the money it seems to be built well. Truth be told it resembles a Provari but is longer and lighter in weight. I haven't spent enough time with it yet to know if it is a keeper. I also bought a Sigelei Zmax for comparison purposes, OLED, RMS et al.
This is a hard time for many people, and vaping is on the line to some extent now. The economy sucks, the FDA is in heat, the China stuff is priced to be a throwaway if it fails, and some of the items are good looking. Many people who can't cough up the money for a Provari can buy a China made or three. Most people make money decisions when they buy hardware. They get what they can afford.
If I were running ProVape I would be keeping one eye on the economy, sixteen eyes on the FDA, and a couple on China. With the current deeming regulation up in the air I would not be in expensive R&D for a new device, I would be waiting to see if an axe appears and if so how hard it is swung and at which section of the vaping community.
An overlooked fact seems to be that we are the early adopters, we are hobbyists and vaping activists/advocates, a very small percentage of the vaping community. The face of vaping is not us. We buy all the new shiny toys and promote the activity.
The face of vaping is the guy buying the cig lookalikes, and if they work for him he may join us at some point, or he may be satisfied with what he has.
China's stuff is getting better, they build a cheap copy and then when the screaming starts they improve it, in that order. They are not trying to build superior products and they are not trying to build product loyalty as is ProVape. They are there for the buck as long as they can keep sucking it in with what they produce.
VW is making strides in the market, and I would expect it to do so. Most new vapers coming to big battery mods have little information about battery safety, ohms law, and what delivery device they can use on the battery tube. A new vaper can shove a battery into the tube, stick something on the connector and vape away without regard to ohms law etc, if he is using VW.
I would guess when ProVape is ready to build a new version they will have taken everything into consideration before they put a toe in the water. US mods are much more expensive to build than China mods. Labor, material, taxes, plant space are all much more expensive here. All of that contributes to the price point they have to maintain in order to be a viable business. It is always much harder to be an innovator than a copy cat.
JMHO
