Quickie - S&W 380 Shield EZ - Going After Walther's PK380?

Smith and Wesson just announced a new Shield chambered in .380 ACP that is user friendly. Based on the specifications and design, I assume that the premise is to provide an extremely user intuitive, feature rich pistol that limited mobility users will have no issue operating. They call it the EZ because of the low human effort needed to rack the slide and load the magazine. Racking the slide on most automatics can be a problem for users (such as a recent client I had) that have arthritis or weak wrists from an injury or surgery. The magazine features a load button similar to what is found on Ruger's 22 pistol line up making loading easier. The pistol has a 3.6 inch barrel which makes the pistol larger than your average 380 but the extra length means a lighter recoil spring. It'll still be easy to carry but shooters with wrist issues shouldn't have too much trouble. One notable feature is they have done away with the manual safety model and added a grip safety.

It seems this pistol is very similar to the Walther PK380 which is another pistol I would like to look at.

The Smith and Wesson 380 Shield EZ has an MSRP on $399. Once these hit the market, I'll be picking up one for testing.

P.S. - According to Julie Golob, this is a hammer fired pistol unlike the standard Shield lineup. This is probably a single action only deal which works for me. She also reports a manual safety model is available.