*I'm leaving this comment for Rich and the folks at R&S. I do not want to take over this thread, so please don't respond unless you think you really need to.*
Hi Rich,
This is not a comment about a specific product, but rather a general observation based on my observations/experiences. In fact, this is more of a comment directed at the old-school oscilloscope players (R&S, Tek, Keysight). I won't be offended if you don't respond!
First, I love the industrial design of R&S scopes. Few competitors make a scope as beautiful as an R&S. Equally as good is the design of the software interface. From the colors, to the controls, to the layout, it is obvious that the design was taken seriously. We have an R&S HMS-X spectrum analyzer at work, and it is truly a joy to use. We bought that SA because it had a special analysis option we needed. (The company I work for designs and manufactures switch-mode power supplies.)
The "problem" I see with R&S scopes (from the perspective of a company purchasing equipment) is that R&S scopes are a poor value on paper. For instance, when I was hired, the company got me a Siglent SDS-2104X. Most recently, we bought a Rigol DS-1104Z for a new engineer. We didn't even think to consider an R&S product (or Tektronix or Keysight for that matter).
Take the R&S RTC1000, for instance. It is a beautiful scope with good implementation of many features. But, it's way more expensive than competitor products with similar data sheet specs. It's incredibly hard for a company to justify that purchase. The company I work for used to be a loyal Tektronix company, but as soon as the cheap Chinese scopes came around, they immediately threw away that allegiance and sprung for the inexpensive offerings.
I referenced this idea in another thread I started..but (in my experience) it's really hard to sell people (and management) on non-quantifiable advantages like a good user interface.
RTC1000 is a good try at competing in the "general-purpose" scope market but I just don't see how R&S can expect to sell many of them. I think some of the other new R&S scopes are truly quite innovative and easier for people to justify the cost. But at the same time, when it's other people's money being spent, sometimes the "it's easier to use" factor is a hard sell.