I've personally been known to pay extra money for guns that don't have the entire owners manual scratched into the side of the barrel (I'm talking to you ruger). Not to mention most ruger revolvers have internal locks as well, albeit the gp100 has remained unmolested in that regard... thus far.
Seriously though, I'll take a hole in the side of the frame, before I take a warning on the side of the barrel. While I honestly think they are equally ugly, the smith has a leaf spring trigger as opposed to Rugers coil spring which, in my opinion makes a massive difference in performance, putting smith on top. Yes I know rugers are built like tanks with all that extra cast steel they use, but if I need to shoot hotter loads, I'll get a bigger gun... simple as that.
This new king cobra has much sexier lines than any ruger revolver I've ever seen, and much sexier lines than any post 2001 smith revolvers. No internal lock. No novel scratched into the side of the barrel. Unfortunate as it is to say, this new king cobra fits a niche in the current market that I feel purist will flock to.