I know a lot of people are moaning about it not having a EVF, but I think it's great. I think by excluding the EVF, they're actually adding to the lifespan of the camera. I feel like EVFs are not going to age well, and cameras that otherwise have great image quality are going to be abandoned because of finnicky EVF (or at least percieved finniciness in the face of better viewfinder coming out down the line). The RX1 is offering two things: an absolutely crackin' sensor with a delicious piece of zeiss glass in front of it. In my favourite focal length no less. I can't say I really need anything other than that.
I use two cameras: a Leica M4 w/ 35mm Ultron and a Ricoh GR1. I always figured the only thing that will bring me back to digital would be a full frame sensor, wide angle lens and compact like a leica without the $8,000 price tag. I thought I would be waiting for at least a decade before anything like that would arrive. After shooting with a meterless Leica, I don't want any nonsense in the viewfinder, just framelines and physical dials for shutterspeed and aperture. After shooting with a GR1 I can appreciate pocketability and automatic exposure/focus.
The RX1 is like a hybrid of these two cameras. I would just turn on centre-point autofocus, lock focus on my subject and then frame the photo the way I do with a rangefinder. Because I no longer need the rangefinder patch, I can live with an external optical viewfinder. This, for me, eliminates all the nonsense that companies cram into viewfinders these days anyways, which puts it above EVF cameras. If I need to double check exposure while shooting on manual, I would almost just use the back LCD like I would a lightmeter.
This is the first digital camera that has a really high appeal to me. Now to wait a while for people to buy it and offload it a few months later for $1000 cheaper than retail! I've been waiting long enough for a camera like this, and considering I didn't think it was going to be possible for a while yet, I'm more than willing to wait another few months to pick one up on the cheap.