Fortunately, HAM transceivers allow the same reception capabilities
and
offers transmission for those properly licensed. I don't believe that
HAM
transceivers are going anywhere soon, so there will be an abundance
of
superlative tabletop models for SWLing for years to come at the same
price of Shortwave only tabletops.

For sure...Quite a selection to choose from also...

For example, the Yaesu FT-840 transceiver. This is a fine (ahem,
according to Yaesu, entry level or good as a "second" transceiver. I
find
it perfect in itself, no need for all the bells and whistles) radio,
though I had to buy the AM filter separately, without it AM reception

filtering was far too narrow.

According to all the people I've known that owned the 840, it is
pretty good...It always sort of reminded me of a yaesu version of
the old IC-730...Same basic look, layout...



Oh, and by the by, some of the HAM transceivers are portable, not
quite
tabletop, definitely not handheld.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1857.html
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1897.html
and others, these are just the ones that came to mine.

Yep, and even those make pretty decent "tabletop radios".
I use my IC-706mk2g as a tabletop 90% of the time,
http://www.icomamerica.com/products/...6mk2gphoto.asp

even though I bought it as a mobile rig...I use it everywhere..
Mobile, portable, and at home...I don't leave it in the car,
cuz I'm afraid someone will steal it...I just put it in,
if I plan on using it, or going out of town, etc..

In the house, it seems about like a tabletop, cuz it's got a
folding stand in front to raise and tilt the radio. It's not
shown in the pix, but it's a chrome metal folding stand
that is under the main portion of the radio...Makes all
the difference..."I happen to like all my radios tilting
up a bit in the front..." I keep my faceplate on the radio,
so it seems like a tabletop, just pretty small.

But get a load of this new version that is "supposed" to be
coming out.
http://www.qsl.net/ab4oj/icom/ic7000.html
It's the replacement for the 706mk2g...Looks pretty
killer, and I think will definitely give the yaesu's a run
for their money in the "mini-mobile" market.
It's the mk2g rebuilt with a dose of "pro" steroids....
I've had great luck with the 706mk2g, and hadn't planned on
getting rid of it anytime soon...But dunno...That IC-7000
has me drooling at the mouth...Being thats a CAD drawing,
I would expect the real thing to look even better than
that pix...500+ mem channels, Dual PBT, hi-stab xtal included,
no extra filters required due to the IF-DSP, etc, ad nausium...
Pretty slick for the small 706 package...It is obviously still
a 706 in basic design...Just pumped to the gills compared to
the original model...This would be the 4th "706" model so far
if it comes out...
I guess they consider it a totally new model, calling it the
IC-7000, but it's still basically a 706 on steroids...
As far as receivers only...It's a tuff call really...I'm sure
new models will come out, but I don't really know what to
expect, except that I expect hi-tech...Small little jobs that
go DC to light in a small package, and actually do it fairly
well. Colorful "pro type" displays, DSP of course, etc...
But overall, doesn't really matter to me, as I'll always be
buying the ham transceivers...That way, I get my moneys worth..
Do it all in one box...The 706 has been great in that regard..
MK