Actually, an Eton employee has been using one of the new E1's for
several weeks now and says it surpasses the Satellit 800. Remember,
the new E1 has THREE bandwidths, a FAST/SLOW AGC, selectable sideband
sync detection, as well as PASSBAND tuning. So the set is actually
somewhere between the Drake SW8 and the Drake R8B. The only main
features missing on this portable are a Noise Blanker and extra
bandwidth filters for CW reception. It is also missing a ferrit
antenna for MW reception but instead uses the whip antenna, as does the
Drake SW8. I would have preferred a large ferrit antenna for complete
portability rather than have to hook up a loop or other external
antenna for MW DXing. This should be (and I am told IS) a killer
portable.

The reason given to me as to why the delays -- they are working out all
quality control issues BEFORE they release any production units for
retail as they don't want a repeat of what happened when the Satellit
800 came out.