I know this won’t happen, but my own ideal would be an RMU-type shell, with an SL300-like display (ala-T800 series I guess), AA/NiMH battery pack compatibility, NOAA + FM (ala-T480), flashlight, and a built-in USB charge port along with the ability to dock.
I’m not kidding myself here- what I think would be MY perfect radio is probably the next guy’s Ford Edsel 
The closest thing I’ve seen to the shell on an FRS capable radio was the Midland GXT5000. Although it didn’t have the T800 display and it was really intended for GMRS, it was a pretty rugged and classy combo radio at the time.
(Those GXT5000s were awesome) I thought about this a little bit and took a look at my T480, since it has all my desired features in one unit, and I guess I’ve come full-circle… The shell is very sturdy, has rubber-like bumpers on the top and bottom, and has a nice weight to it. I don’t even think the shell material is dissimilar to the RMU units, just different color and perhaps texture. Maybe not QUITE as thick, but I have opened one of these and it’s thicker than one might think. It’s very well sealed against the elements. Range has never disappointed me. I think the main difference is the chunk of metal inside that probably forms a nice backplane in the business class radios.
I agree with n1das that a “professional style” FRS radio would be nice (since a lot of at least semi-professional users buy FRS anyways… A fairly sizable pet supply store chain here uses Moto T400s), but I don’t know how well or not it would sell. A business buying FRS radios is probably doing it because they don’t want to spend the money on a “purpose-built” radio fleet. I am just a sucker for tough-built stuff, so I am always going to like to see things like that. But after consideration, I still think the available FRS models at the upper price points are very well-made. They have just been built with a different user in mind. Since I like all these features unique to them, I guess that includes me!
I like the build quality of the latest T-series Talkabouts. They supposedly are genuine Motorola made instead of made for Motorola by someone else through a purchase for resale (PFR) agreement. Giant International in China was the supplier for many of the Motorola Talkabout radios for a while. IIRC, a few Talkabouts may have also been made by Maxon. I think most of them have been made by Giant International and I read somewhere that Motorola’s deal with Giant ended a few years ago and the latest T series Talkabouts are genuine Motorola made. The build quality appears to be better in the latest T series Talkabouts.
http://shop.giantintl.com/Products.aspx
You can see some design similarities since the Motorola takeover of the Talkabout design. The RMU units have a similar “curved top”, for instance. I didn’t DISLIKE the Giant-designed models at all… I like my MT350R a lot, but you can feel the difference in materials used (ABS vs. PC). The new models feel tougher and have a nice weight to them. The belt clips are night and day (although still nothing fancy), but the Giant radios had clips that were terrible- they broke easily, and felt very cheap
There is a new breed of FRS radios out now that are specifically designed for business use. Cobra makes a couple of models for businesses such as restaurants, retailers and other small businesses that are fairly rugged and are IP55 dust and water resistant for use in onsite applications.
DeWALT recently introduced two models of their own that are designed for businesses such as onsite construction, maintenance and repair companies, as well as mom-and-pop businesses.
Coincidentally, we just put out a podcast on how the rule changes in 2017 have enabled more proprieters to use FRS radios for business, and manufacturers to build radios specifically for that market. You can hear it in this thread.
I won a triathlon taking first place on a Sears Free Spirit 10-speed bike with the hydraulic brakes that I bought used at a yard sale. I was competing against a big buck Campagniola Italian racing bike.
They were all bashing on me when I showed up with it for the race. After the race they were all strangely silent…
You see, all my training was on that heavy mild steel bike with steel rims and fat tires…
‘bubble pack’ radios are no more defined by their packaging, grade wise, than any of your ‘disposable’ bubble pack pre-paid cellphones sold in the USA.
They are what they are, the cellphones are fairly basic but functional and likewise the bubble pack radios are too.
Anybody who uses range, quality and main argument factors of mainstream non-disposable market kit to rate what are actually disposable short-term targeted devices (the fact they will, with care, have years of solid use doesn’t detract from the fact they are marketed for those who just want a modern equiv of a n-channel CB handheld only VHF/UHF), somewhat misses the point of them.
One of most sentimentally respected radios was one of a pair of ‘bubble pack’ 49mhz handhelds (not the toy looking stuff, ones the size of two PP3’s stacked), single channel (surprisingly, not crystal but synthesized, as the board was common to a more expensive multichannel model too).
You see, what the ‘CB’ fans with their 1/2 channel junk heap equivs didn’t realise that whilst 49mhz was technically LOS operation, given a better overall grade of receiver involved and a notably under-driven PA stage and a higher quality (as necessary for LB VHF upwards) FM RF stages, they were much more consistent at the extremes and didn’t suffer massive break through interference from mobile/base AM CB users running power.
So, and given they ran a decent time on a single pp3 under mixed usage, they were (in the late 70s/early 80s) pretty much what bubble pack radios are today user intended wise, but like like today’s FM counterparts on PMR446, DPMR, DMR, and whatever licensed exempt VHF/UHF service you care to choose, they work and despite being crippled to death, the underpinnings are key and they ain’t as bad as the price point would define them as.
The biggest flaw of them, range wise, these VHF/UHF bubble wrap and retail box preset devices are the forced limitations for their TA certification. Range being an uncomfortable balance between geographical impact on propagation and restricted ERP defined as much by cruddy helical antennas and limited PA stages - but stand in the right place where you can get ■■■■ near EM LOS to the other party and you’ll be surprised how far a few mW’s can go under the right conditions.
So whilst I’d never choose to use a BP sold radio, not when I can buy better quality LE compliant commercial grade kit cheaply enough for occasional group use leisure or otherwise, because of my childhood experience of 49mhz and the not-toy BP radios I used and having a bit of appreciation of how many quality bargains can lie within cheapo cruddy toy/leisure injection moulded cases, if they work as advertised and they’re all that’s to hand, some comms is better than no comms, and if it makes zero difference to you any of they above, if they do the job - use them.
They aint, commercial grade sets by any means, but because of their origins and how they are manufacted to a price point, they share at least a degree of modules (at a basic level) not far detached from cheaper commercial grade kit.
Compared to 80s CB minis and most toy/leisure handhelds, today’s BP stuff are virtually wonderful value and quality.
Oh, and the 49mhz sets I owned - still good and functional even 40-odd years later, just have a better power source than pp3’s and kept on residual charging for emergency. So never underestimate what ‘cheapo’ kit can transpire to be, just buy knowing the score before you hand over cash - it’s a lottery gamble, but compared to 80s gen counterparts, it’s like having a half-good poker hand from the initial deal.
What’s a DTR? I’m new to gmrs
DTR is the model prefix for one brand of radios. I think this topic went cold quite a while back.
I’m always a little confused with these topics. People always want military style performance from Big Mac meal priced radios!