Open system codec
My vote would be for an open system codec.
Everyone wants to be able to decode ALL the digital systems. That just ain't going to happen - only if the manufacturers see a 'market' for a feature will they then be bothered to sit down and design the circuitry, code the code, and develop a reception mode for their new receiver.
So why not make a scanner like a computer? A computer doesn't do anything much until software is put into it - after all, its just hardware that makes it possible to do just about anything, given the right software. In the world of radio, this is called Software Defined Radio.
These SDRs are pretty expensive right now, but bringing the concept down a notch or two should be possible for a domestic grade device such as a scanner. Lets have software definable codecs - or at least the decode part of codec. You want pager decoding? P25? EDACS? LTR? fine, just load the appropriate software into the scanners 'codec' brain and away it goes.
What happens if you want to do something a little unusual like Mobitex? MPT1327? ACARS? OK, well here's the kicker - make the firmware code that drives the codec an 'open' system - something that is published and known to the public / consumer / developers, so that anyone with the appropriate knowledge can sit down and code a reception mode 'codec' for the scanner themselves.
So all these people who lament the lack of an MPT1327 trunk-tracker in a single receiver could now have the chance to code their own 'codec' for the scanner & make it available for others to download on the net. Such a scanner would then be all things to all people - or at least have the potential to be. No longer would you be waiting for a couldn't-care-less-manufacturer-cause-it-won't-make-us-any-money to make your scanner. Now you'd have a base of users, somewhere, worldwide who want the same reception mode or feature that you want - and surely one of them will be clever enough to write code for the 'open' system scanner.
But lets not stop there - we can also make the "operating system" of the scanner customer-updatable too, so the whole feel of the way the scanner operates can be changed. Things like changing menu structures to the way you're comfortable with, or changing the way the scanning or searching looks & operates. Define your own features, even.
The way open computing power is going these days, such a domestic grade SDR could be possible. My only concern is that the technology will have to mature a bit more yet - I'm a bit 'old school' in this way of thinking - a solution done in hardware (ie hard coded ROM, custom designed circuits etc) will be faster and more reliable than that done by software.
But other than that, I like the idea of:
variable delay per channel
attenuation per channel
tweakable settings like the AR8000 had for sound-squelch, PLL lockup times, etc etc.
Li-ion batteries
clock (I don't often wear a watch, I have a scanner with me more often!)
