[plasticman]

I know it's way more cool to be cynical about this question and say that the earliest date for a new M-digital is still three years away, but I really want to know how on earth Leica will survive that long if they're unable to release something sooner?

I went along to my Leica dealer this week with my Epson and a couple of lenses hoping to do a direct comparison now that used (dollar) prices for the M8 are about what I paid for the RD1s. (I felt I'd bought enough from them over the last couple years to justify using their demo camera as a guinea pig).
Well, they no longer have any demo or even boxed M8 in stock. The camera is 'to order' only, because they can't justify holding one for long periods of time, and said that demand is no longer there. This is the main Leica dealer in Stockholm - as far as I know, the only Leica dealer holding stock north of Gothenburg!

So - three years to go, till the next update huh? Hang on - 2012 is four years away - I beg your pardon. Sometimes my head can't accept what my eyes are reading.
I guess by then we an expect an iPhone will have 3D image capturing capability...