For instance, ‘Xcelsius’ was revolutionary when they came with their What-If charts (see f.i. ‘Ryan Goodman’). Same thing with ‘Trendalyzer’ (now Google motion charts).

New could be :
i) automatic pattern recognition (trend matching logic = the computer automaticly suggests the simplest possible pattern. Example: a)linear, b) cubic c) … + distribution pattern.

ii) direct edit graphs.

iii) basic research chart – like the ‘Visualization Taxonomies’ – which tries to find the true essence of the charts – to deliver “value”. Don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoy the “pleasure charts” (very pleasing for the eye, like ‘Information Aesthetics’. My blog is full of those) but perhaps not so much easier from a decision point of view.

iiii) a really good (free) 3d plot (xyz) chart (or more – I think you can imagine how) + motion.

Also, it might be interesting to read what ‘Juice Analytics’ think of ‘embedding charts in a web page’ (incl. Widgenie)…and don’t miss ‘Juice analytics Chart chooser’, or ‘Many Eyes’.

It’s possible to Google the ‘keywords’.