My kiln, the Big Blue Fusebox, is perfect for me. It's big enough to cook dozens of beads, and is also big enough for fusing, should I decide to. It has a bead door on the front, which is essential for me, because it makes getting into safer and more convenient when working on beads. The entire top also opens, if you want to fuse. The kiln came with a seperate digital controller, which has two programs ready - one for basic annealing and one for a slow ramp-up if you need it. I think the new model has the controller already attached, but mine is a seperate piece. The kiln keeps the heat in very well, even when you open the bead doors. So far, I have only had one incident with it involving a power outage, and all turned out okay in the end. (power went off in the middle of an anneal cycle, and when power came back, kiln ramped back up and stayed at 950.) The kiln heats up very quickly (unless you use the slow program to ramp up) and stays at the set temp very well. I think Frantz sells the kiln and controller for under $1000 at their site.
Hmmmm - that's about it. Good luck!