Just to point out, the article states the current deathadder as being 800dpi, when it is in fact 1800 dpi. I guess it's just a typo.
The deathadder I think is the sweet spot of price/performance of the razer range, and a lot of people prefer it to the more expensive models, a small refresh is very welcome for a similar price. Why change such a great design.
As above, this wouldn't be the first time malware has sneaked onto a release, but that said, it could make it all the more inexcusable. At least they didn't try to deny it or hide it.