UMPCs are a consumer product. The Microsoft website for UMPCs shows regular people using UMPCs in everyday situations. Microsoft could have used images of a sales person punching buttons on the touch screen while at a field appointment, but didn't. Interestingly, businesses have seen on their own how they can use UMPCs and some are chosing to adopt them. This is a good thing.
The prospect of volume sales is always tempting to manufacturers. Do you want to have one sale of 1000 units or 1000 sales of 1 unit? Both take time. Both will have post-sales support. The RMA rates will be the same. Single unit sales can be rapid cash flow. But it's tempting to think that the one sale of 1000 units is the way to go. It seems "easier" and there is always that hope with sales people that where there is one potential sale of 1000 units that there are more just like that waiting out there.
The other day when Loren and I were talking about what his 2007 predictions could include. We joked with each other about what this list could include. One joke was how the press might start focusing on benefits of UMPC for traditional vertical business use. Even though I actually agree with the appropriateness of UMPCs for certain vertical uses and I can see specialized UMPCs for these uses (education, in car and through car navigation, for example), I can see the humor in that despite efforts to help UMPCs appeal to consumers that the want for volume sales may end up dominating. Vertical business uses could potentially become more powerful in the press because people like to talk about volume. Yes, the context of this conversation ranged from the absurd to the brutal reality of what happens.
So, when I read this paragraph in IT Week (Microsoft Camp to show new mobile designs) today, I had to laugh. I'm still laughing.

Although very slow-selling so far, UMPC models have a decent chance of success in vertical industries such as retail and healthcare for activities such as stocktaking and form-filling that require a sizeable screen with minimal weight and simple input. More broadly, some users see value in the devices as vehicles for note-taking and streaming media.

The statement is correct. There is nothing wrong with it. However, it is the primary statement about how people can use UMPCs in the article. I'd have appreciated more balance in the whole article about convienience of an ultra-portable PC for people everyday, possibilities of using a UMPC when at home, at the store, or even reading while relaxing in a park. People are using UMPCs this way today. Ah, but volume sales are so tempting.
In the end, I wonder if the vertical attraction is what pushes the everlasting interest in Apple entering the Tablet PC or Ultra-Mobile PC market and supporting consumers. Rumors (here, here, here, and on and on) are surging again as the dates for MacWorld approaches. Remember what happened in 2003 with the Apple iWrite discussions? With article titles like, First Mac Tablet To Be Unveiled at MacWorld Next Week, is there any doubt that the pressure is there?
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What Is New in Tablet PCs and UMPCs.