As a girl, I can see the advantages of the first prototype... fits easily concealed in a purse, and say someone were to run by and grab your purse.. if it falls out, it's not like "HELLO! GUN IN PURSE!" which can make the situation a lot worse... Think about it...

Chick is walking down the street, thief runs by and grabs her purse. A girl is automatically gonna grab for it to try to stop him. Generally, when the girl grabs for it, some of the heavier things fall out. A gun is pretty damn heavy, so if the girl has a gun in her purse, it has now fallen out. There's a chance that the thief will see it fall and grab it. Now the situation has turned from a simple robbery/pursesnatching to a dangerous armed situation where, if the thief did think fast enough to grab the gun, the thief now has total control.

With the folding gun, if it falls out, the thief doesn't realize what it is, and the girl can grab it, unfold it, and now SHE is in control.