Since its pioneering initial introduction to the analytical market, is UPLC as hot as ever? Have competitors "me too" products diluted sales?
Sales are still growing and since the introduction of H-Class Waters have shown that all other uHPLC systems are just pretenders. Waters was happy to see the introduction of the 1290 because it confirmed the direction of the industry while still being totally compromised. Also, remember that the chemistry has driven the development and the 1290 was developed on Waters columns. Who is going to know the technology better, the developer or the copier?
UPLC is okay, but not the revolutionary product my employer thought it would be. HPLC is good enough for 95% of analysis.
Having people like Rob Burgess being bribed to try and get sales shows Waters is desperate for sales. Agilent is still the giant in the market and the 1290 is doing well from reports.