Lora makes some excellent points in her post regarding an IT Week article.

This is a key paragraph to Lora's ideas:

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.

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Vertical markets are large but I do not see the UMPC's filling them yet. The problem is that in the mobile market there are two categories of devices needed for vertical markets. The closest to the 7" devices is for mobile workforce technicians to replace paper forms. The problem is the device is too costly.

The other market that is even larger is for a jacket pocket laptop with a touch type keyboard. The OQO comes closest but full windows is not practical with a thumb input and if you add all the additional keyboards, docking stations, etc. the bundle is not only pricey at about $2-3000 but not mobile enough to carry in your pocket anymore.

UMPC's need pocket touch type keyboard form factors which there are none in the US but the samsung sph p9200 is such a device but only sold in Korea. The other segment needs UMPC's that are cheap $200-500 and ideally share the HTC shift concept of dual OS so that instant on for office apps could be made. UMPC's need a lot more new devices to gain any vertical markets.