Well, I see it like this: used to be in the past, Glock pretty much marketed itself with little publicity outside competition, law-enforcement, military, and certain other somewhat exclusive communities. Serious Glockers have more than likely been through at least two of the Glock generations, and some have just got on board and fell in love for one reason or another. However, as we can see on this forum alone, there are those hoping, wishing, or wanting to take another look at the Glock if only the Glocks had "such and such or this and that". Other than overseas military contracts and the like, I figure the United States is the largest market for LE and civilian sales. In this sliding US economy (and worldwide for that matter), it only makes sense to start catering to a larger customer base and more opportunities as I'm sure they have lost some over the years. Kind of like automobiles....flooded the market, but now turnover has slowed. Or maybe...just maybe, Glocks are lasting longer than expected? Ya think? So...in my mind, Glock never has needed to nor do I believe they are now....trying to catch up with any competition in whatever form. They just have someone smart in marketing just like they have someone smart in engineering. And just maybe....maybe after all of these years with booming sales and totally satisfied customers throughout the industry.....they are simply opening up more opportunities and projected sales, and may be listening to consumer input from sources. Why be satisfied with current trends staying at the current level, or dropping slightly? Purely survival instinct, and if Glock does well with the new market, then we'll all benefit by the prices remaining somewhat steady on their pistols. I'm sure they have enough contracts well into the next decade to sustain the company as is, even considering some of the American law enforcement community dropping some, and some adopting them year to year. Glock has done their research well, and "3-5 years catching up with others" is a fallacy in my opinion. Not "catching up", just a very wise thing to do in the corporate world especially now. While others have taken risk and jumped in amidst being bought and sold and changed ownerships as corporations, Glock has remained the rock in the foundation. The company is by no means slow to learn, or scrambling for the lifeboats. Perhaps now is the time to be more modular than they have been in the past. It just makes sense. I'm also sure the so called 'late response' could be attributed to their ethics and standards of doing extensive research in the markets, and where others may project 3-5 years, maybe Glock looks ten years in either direction (past and future), long enough to have more stable statistics than others. Glock slow to evolve? Surely you jest. A company, a man, and a firearm that originally left all others behind at least twenty years? You can't expect me to take that seriously. Are they fighting for share of the current market with these newer models? I seriously doubt it. Am I defending Glock for their decisions or perceived lack thereof? Nope. I know they are fully capable of defending themselves. I'm just sayin'.