Sounds like great improvements to the mounting system and the equatorial drive.

The tripod looks as sturdy as the field tripods used with the LX200 series and the equatorial mount is a bonus compared to having to purchase and additional equatorial wedge with the LX's. The drive upgrades such as reduced backlash and smoother tracking will come in handy if you are planing to do long exposures.

The Autostar Suite and LPI Imager/Autoguider option enabling hookup to a laptop would sure make things easier and more fun and a must if you are going for astrophotography IMO, but not necessary for the casual observer.

I have a feeling you are not just the casual observer and are going to expand and explore.

Looking forward to the review.