Still prefer inconsolata at the moment, any particular feature of ubuntu mono that you feel puts it far ahead of others?

Can't say, just how it looks. It looks incredibly smooth and well thought out. I don't know, specifically. Just like how it looks.

The letter l on it's own at small font sizes resembles the number 1 in other fonts too closely. In fact, my default sans font (DejaVu Sans) has the 1 shaped just like the Inconsolata l. I'm sure it's something you get used to but I personally prefer the style used in DejaVu Sans Mono or Ubuntu Mono, where the l shape can't be mistaken for anything else.

The italics are amazing - very visible and distinct from the regular font, making it a great tool for validation. E.g. it's very noticeable when a CSS rule is not italic all of a sudden (misspelled). It adds a nice layer on top of colors to distinguish between different states.

The lack of bold weight for inconsolata really kills its utility for me.

FYI Inconsolata was (also) designed by a programmer: http://levien.com/type/myfonts/inconsolata.html

It has a very different look and feel though.