I see the Pulse 80 as a pretty major transitional piece of hardware. I remember a similar trend when the Kangertech Subtank Mini kit came out. All of a sudden a lot of people bought them that had been using pen style vapes and got them in the mindset to buy box mods and tanks. It no longer was a scary mystery. They were affordable and easy to use.
A lot of people are buying the Pulse and squonking for the first time and its a cheap way to try it out. Its not perfect but its not bad. Its simple and it works ok.