This radio does about everything a amateur would want in a handheld. A big plus is PC programmability. I am very impressed with this handheld. It is very user friendly. There is no function button to worry about like on most of the Icom HT's.
Scan rate is fairly quick as compared to some of the older radios.
Like the Q7A below and the R2 receiver it uses the same cable for programming. I am very impressed with the size for one thing and that it runs almost forever on 2 AA batteries. This radio covers 30-1300 mhz, cellular bands blocked of course. Tx is in the VHF and UHF amateur bands only but can be modified. I am so impressed with this radio that I also purchased its cousin the IC-R2 Communications Receiver.