In reply to all:
I find this stuff fascinating (just as well since I'm doing a PhD in it!) and the general air of negativity around this release is a pity, but also somewhat inevitable. The way I see it is this:
Patagonia are using this as a way of saying they spend time developing new products - they don't expect these to sell fast; they are flagship products. Patagonia's market for this is not normal people or most hardcore climbers. It's their own sponsored climbers and loaded climbers or city-slickers. Maybe collectors (limited edition).
Analogously, you can buy a Team Sky Pinarello for £10,000+, which is neither practically-priced nor much better than your average super-expensive bike. You can buy a custom-aged Gibson covered in mother in pearl and soaked in virgin blood from a limited edition of 10 units. They are also no-better than most £3000 Les Pauls. These products are for superfans, people with silly money, or collectors. They are not normal products, but show-pieces.
The design side of it is interesting as they're again doing something pretty unusual by not allowing any stitch-through points. It's a good work-out for the designers if nothing else. Hopefully they did it properly with an infrared camera and checked for thermal bridges. Finally, fit is crucial on this sort of thing. I think going to a really top tailor who understands the outdoors and getting them to make you a custom-fit down jacket would be interesting. I reckon jackets could be way warmer than they currently are, unless you can find one that fits you perfectly.
Patagonia have spent a shedload of cash on this line of research (they bought a whole company!) and are pouring effort into 'plasma-ed' down. This, from a scientific point of view is Dead Cool, and this is the first of what will probably be many products in this area. They have a fairly solid patent on the process so can corner the market. Increased water repellence in down is an advantage in a lot of situations, and plasma is definitely the coolest way to apply it. Increased FP is a bonus.
I say bravo Patagonia for bringing something genuinely innovative to the outdoor industry. It's super-expensive, but I think gear should shoot for the moon. If you're not aiming for perfect then there's not much point, is there?
In reply to nufkin: Good point indeed. Patagonia rate by US cylinder - this is basically the same FP as PHD's EU 900+. This brings us to another thing - when will one system become accepted? It would make it simpler! Finally, there is the far more interesting idea of breading geese in a more controlled manner. If you got the very very best down off only the very very best geese, then processed it with the utmost care, I reckon you'd achieve fill powers of 1200. That would cost more still, though.