The tools market has long been both vibrant and competitive, with FEIs Tools for Nanotech going up against JEOLs The Complete Nanotechnology Solution. FEI seem to be winning both in terms of having a snappier and more accurate slogan than JEOL, and the continual introduction of new products. The latest, the ominously named Titan pushes resolution down to 0.7 angstrom, or 0.07 nanometres. Obviously not every lab needs sub atomic resolution, but its there if needed.
Now that imaging on the nanoscale is pretty much routine, and the funds to do it have been available for five years, we (we being the part of Cientifica with its head in the fume cupboard rather than the board room) are seeing an increasing number of technologies being developed that will knock stain resistant pants into a cocked hat. Companies such as Advance Nanotech and Arrowhead (and before them IP2IPO) are already running around trying to identify and licence these technologies, but spend much time in any academic institution and you will soon see that it takes more than a few years of massive funding to produce the real earth shaking technologies.
But as nanotechnologies move into their fifteenth year, that is fifteen years after working on the nanoscale became almost routine, if somewhat fiddly, the floodgates are about to open for manufactures or products other than tools.