I have the RobbMc starter and its awesome. Even though I've only driven on my driveway, there have been plenty of startups and it works great. As you say, nothing really wrong with the larger, less expensive old technology, but for more space, less weight and much greater torque if you need it, these little ones are the way to go IMHO.
http://www.robbmcperformance.com/pro...t_starter.html