Tschorn is another brand you can look at. Cheaper than the Haimer with support in North Amerca which the Haimer does not have. You can't buy Tschorns or replacement tips off Amazon, but from the places you can, they are a lot cheaper.
I have had the opportunity to handle the Haimer NG, the Haimer Universal Inch, and two Tschorn DREPLus (which is different from the regular 3D Taster that the Tschorn makes but it's probably representative).
The biggest difference I noticed was the Haimer NG in my hand as a smooth feeler than the Haimer Universal or the Tschorn DREPlus. The Z-axis movement of all three models feels smooth and indicator like enough (it moves consistently and you can kind of feel the mechanism behind. The Haimer NG might be a litte lighter in this respect but there is nothing offensive about the Haimer Universal or the Tschorn DREPlus here. The difference comes in the XY movement. The Haimer Universal and the Tschorn has a more mush damped feeling while the Haimer NG feels much more free. This however, doesn't seem to impact use in the machine.
I also find the Tschorn DREPlus easier to calibrate than the Haimer NG though I can't put my finger on why that would be. I can't speak for the Haimer Universal in this aspect.
The Tschorn requires less travel to reach zero which might speed things up, but also make it more vulnerable to overtravel.
I have never held the regular the Tschorn 3D Tasters (the DREPlus has a conical steel tip meant for use on a lathe, not a carbide ball), but something you might not have noticed from the product materials is that the ball on the Tschorn is significantly smaller diameter than those in the Haimers. 3mm vs 4mm (or 0.200"/5.08mm for the inch versions).
Another other difference is the Haimer NG (and presumably the universal) have a dial you can rotate to adjust though I do not know why you would ever use it. Seems like changing it would just get you in trouble. The Tschorn does not.
The Haimer NG has measurement graduations on the dial but the newer model Tschorns do not, but you can tell this from photos.
I thought I broke our Haimer NG last week and was excited to order a regular Tschorn 3D Taster to see what it was like, but unfortunately and fortunately, I managed to fix the issue so I cancelled the order for the Tschorn. It seemed something, probably coolant solidified in the bottom of the U-cup from the Haimer being stored upside down when in its CAT40 holder in the tool rack. I don't know why it happened now and never 3 years earlier. This caused the Haimer was sticking in all directions if you left it sitting for a couple of minutes without using it. It actually stuck so much that the probe broke on a Z-axis measurement. Since no support was available, I had nothing to lose so I took the rubber seal off, pushed the probe down and poured isopropyl alcohol into it and couple times and rinsed it out. That seems to have fixed it.
