Neil,
I think the way the photo-industry works has not changed over the last 20 years. There are different camera models and brands and there are different needs of the users.
Like 20 years ago, you have a broad range of different manufacturers and each manufacturer has different models. The one that might please you the most might be wrong for others. This is why different producers exists at all.
IMHO the question is not whether the E-1 has enough pixel or is "cheap enough" to buy it vs. a Canon 300D or Canon 10d... you name it....
The question is more what do you want to use it for. If you know that exactly, the decision for a specific model becomes a lot easier and you will not regret the purchase.
Like within the last 20 years, you always had to decide into which system you are buying, because the lenses are not compatible. Lets forget for a moment the non-ideal solutions with adapters.
But I strongly advice not to judge any camera only by its price or pixelnumbers or construction details. For some people even a plastic bomber might be the right choice. But others might think differently. It is your money, so you should go for the system, which suits you the most, not what others tell you what they would buy in your case (most of these advisors own Canon and Nikon lenses and they are therefore not very objective, since the hurdle for them is a lot higher than for others).
Having said that you can see this very easy with the new Nikon D2H, If you would go only by numbers, nobody would buy this camera. It is outragious expensive (twice the price of an E-1), it has a pixelnumber of a digital P&S and it still is using the Nikon-mount with a multilpier effect, and lenses which were never intended to be made for digital use.
So looking at these facts, nobody should buy a Nikon D2H. But what I have read by now is that the order books are full already. So there might be people who are not only judging by numbers. They look what they need. And in my opinion this is the only reason to buy this "inferior" Nikon model: the speed of shooting range (fps), which is important for the press. And the press does not need high pixelnumbers, since the media the photos are printed on are worse than 4MP.
The same counts for the E-1. There is not ONE professional market. There are thousends of prfessionals, who are earning their living with different jobs than press photographers or landscape shooters. And for some or many of them the E-1 might be the right instrument for their needs. And for others, who do ot like yet the E-1, an upcoming E-2 will be the perfect choice - or a xyz-model of another manufacturer in 6 months.
There are so many photographers out there, who have not yet Nikon or Canon lenses. And all of them will go for digital cameras over the next 5 years. A huge market for every non-Canon and non-Nikon producer with different offerings.
The most appealing argument for me for the E-1 is the digital purpose from the very first moment on. Olympus has prooved to be able to manufacture great lenses in the past for the OM System and also for the digital P&S. So this system is beside the Contax N-System the only one on the market, which was made specifically for the digital photography. I am sure we will see the benefits soon.
