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Because at the time that I bought my KR1/KPC650 combo, there were no USB EVDO modems. There are no, but I already have an investment. Presently, I’m holding out for a real carrier (like Cingular) to offer a USB UMTS/HSDPA option (as opposed to my using a non-certified/approved one as others are doing) or for a new revision of the UX to offer 64Gb SSD, LED backlighting, 1Gb RAM, AND integrated UMTS/HSDPA. Until I can get all four for a decent price (>$2000) I’m sticking with my current investment.

Oh, and the KR1 solution has an added benefit… namely when I’m on roadtrips with the family, my in-car PC uses the KR1 as does my son’s PSP and as does my UX. Doing IT work, its inevitable that I’ll get the “systems down” call when I’m supposed to be on vacation. In that case I can let the wife drive and I have mobile internet access already running, as does my son and the in-car PC. With a USB EVDO option I have less to carry and to power, but fewer options as well.

I don’t disagree with you; my Samsung Q1 was my primary computing device until I got my Q1P. I still have some home office and audio/video editing needs that drove me to my recent MacBook Pro purchase. If it weren’t for digital media editing, I could easily get by with my UMPC. There’s numerous posts here showing that point over the past year.

I simply called the UMPC a ‘companion device’ because most folks consider a 7-pound notebook a mobile device. While it is a mobile device, most users haven’t caught on that a sub-two pound Tablet PC might work as a primary mobile unit.

BTW: why not dump the EVDO router and go with an EVDO USB modem for the Sony? ;)

“a companion UMPC device”? How is two devices (and likely a cellphone too boot mobile computing? I had the T60 which also made the finalist list. It was replaced with the Sony UMPC as my primary device. It gets docked at home and at work and is used in its portable fashion when on the road. I only need the one device. I carry a small travel bag that includes a KR1 EVDO router for those times when the integrated EDGE connection aren’t sufficient and also includes a portable DVD multi-drive and a BT keyboard. The combined weight of all is roughly 2/3 of the T60′s weight but the functionality is equal, though I’m more mobile. I know UMPC are largely being marketed as companion devices, but in all honesty there’s no reason they can’t be primary devices. Many of us do so with our UX’s and OQO’s and we have the added benefit of not having to worry about syncing data from/to multiple devices.