The Q10 is $399 MSRP, so it's starting much cheaper. I understand your point, but the Q needed to be at a lower price point....
Pentax Q in the UK is now available with 8.5mm & 5-15mm lenses for £311 at Tesco Direct. Looks like a pretty good price to me.
I wonder if these have more composite/plastic bits on the body to keep down costs? I definitely prefer the look of the original (and it feels solid in hand).
Theres a rumour in pentaxforums that Ricoh/Pentax may well increase the sensor size to 1/1.7 in the next Q iteration. After much discussion over there, the pundits decided that the existing lenses would also work with that sized sensor, because they have a larger focus area than the existing sensor requires. If they would give an evf alongside it, I would be interested.