It seems like IFI really has it this time. The two gripes I had about Vex was price and the sort of thrown-in-headfirstness of the kit if you don't have a specific goal in mind, or if some of the concepts are a bit over your head. (Sure, there are forums online, but some younger kids might have parents who are skittish about message boards.) Judging from the
Robot Magazine article, those problems are reduced or removed.
The only question that lingers in my mind is that of backwards-compatibility, although it seems like the hardware is similar from the pictures. (Perhaps the revised system will somehow adapt to standard male pin headers?)