Not all MPP's are upgradeable - I'm guessing that these $499 models are not upgradeable to v4.0. However, is the bug-ridden v4 upgrade worth the extra $700? Hell no. If I had to do over I would get the $499 model (or follow Fran's suggestion).

I agree that the MPP has become an indispensible part of my gear but Freehand's v4 is sloppy at best and not a single service release to address the problems has come out this year. Simply put, Freehand sucks.