The discrepancy between the LED lights is possibly due to flash photography so I would be inclined to discount that concern.
The initial artwork and POS images do have subtle differences to the model ready for release, the most notable being the camera no longer being flush.
My opinion is it looked better in the marketing images but changes could have been implemented to protect the lens? That's just a guess though.
Regarding size, yes the marketing shots did make the ROAM-e look smaller than we now know it is, however there is nothing in those shots to give perspective so it could have been the same size all along and you/we were just seeing what we wanted to see....
Luckily my Mrs has a handbag like Mary Poppins!