It is safe to say that I have used, abused, and broken just about all of the shot timers on the market. Over the course of two years I had four CED7000s die on me. The Pocket Pro IIs I bought fourteen months ago both died on the same day last weekend.
The shooting world needs a better shot timer.
What are some features we'd like to see? Here is a starting list from my perspective:
Durability. We use these things for outdoor sporting activities and military/LE training. They need to work in the heat and the cold, the rain, the mud, and the sand. They need to be tough enough to withstand getting dropped on concrete from shoulder height. If my cell phone and iPod can work for hours a day every day for years, I'd really like a shot timer that can put in at least 500 full days of range use before it craps out.
User interface. The current trend toward having minimal number of buttons and driving everything through complicated menus is annoying. I shouldn't have to memorize a 20-page manual to set a PAR time. The CED 6000 was one of the best for this. You could set fixed/random/instant for the buzzer and both set & clear PAR times without going into any menus. I don't mind menus for semi-permanent settings but the stuff you want to change from drill to drill should be accessible through hardware.
Display. Needs to be readable under all lighting conditions (backlight could be something that was menu-activated). Primary display should be big and readable enough for the 60-something crowd that often volunteer their time to help run matches. An option (again could be menu-driven) to display either just the overall time or a more comprehensive list of data like on a Pocket Pro II would be a plus. Seeing first shot, last split, and number of rounds fired without having to page through menus is nice.
Size & weight. As long as I can hold it in my hand and toss two in my range bag without taking up inordinate amount of space, I'm happy. The trend toward tiny little timers is probably one big reason they've become so dang fragile. I know that small is cool, but I'm not willing to compromise on durability or functionality just to have something tiny.
Sensitivity. Needs to have the ability to adjust sensitivity from as quiet as a dry-fire or airsoft shot to being useful at a public indoor range. The Pocket Pro II does this fairly well; I use mine at a very busy indoor range regularly and it picks up my pistol without picking up nearby rifles if I get the sensitivity settings right. This could be menu-driven. Bonus if you set up "profiles" so instead of changing three settings each time I could just have custom-set Indoor, Outdoor, and Dry-Fire options. Sensitivity absolutely must be adjustable digitally; one of the PACT Club Timer's and CED 6000's greatest failures is the difficulty of changing sensitivity.
Loudness. Along the same lines, it needs to be loud enough that people can hear it while wearing muffs and plugs at an indoor range. As a plus, adjustable loudness would be nice for those times when someone wants to dry-fire in the basement without shaking the house with a monstrous BEEEEEEP! every ten seconds.
Memory. The timer needs to record multiple runs. The Pocket Pro II's lack of this capability is a major negative. The CED7000 handles this well.
Data transfer. Bluetooth connectivity would be ideal. Failing that, how about storing data on a micro-SD card? I'd like the ability to take, say, all of my students' FAST runs and just dump them into my computer. Better yet, Jesus will personally come down and shake your hand if you can integrate it with my iPad. Plus that would open up a whole world of app possibilities to partner with your awesome new shot timer. Heck, even a mini-USB port would be better than nothing.
Battery. Absolutely positively must take common batteries available at 7-11 or the local grocery store. 9V or AA are best. Personally, I'd be fine with 123s as well but not everyone keeps 50 of those lying around. Rechargeables are right out. No matter how long you think they'll hold a charge, they won't. And I don't want to drag another charging cable everywhere I go. Nothing recharges as fast as a battery swap.
Price. Honestly, I don't care. If you could provide all of this wish list for $350 -- which is about three times the price of a current timer -- I'd buy two. If you could do it all for $200 or so, most people would be willing to spend the extra $70-80 for that level of functionality and durability.