I got this radio and the Sporty's radio at the same time, and it's a night and day difference in quality. This radio feels much better made, more compact and lighter as well without 8 AAs. I like that you can put in text for saved channels, so I've got my common frequencies saved with their airport identifier and use (ie TWR GND AWS) all readily available. Speaker is louder and much clearer than the Sporty's hands down. Battery life is very good.One of my favorite features is the bluetooth. Yes, it's a little confusing that you have to get into a sub menu to use the bluetooth microphone portion, but once it's set up it's great. I have it linked to my Bose A20 headset with bluetooth, letting me use this as a backup radio without even dealing with my headset jacks, let alone adapters.As far as downsides, I wish dealing with the bluetooth functions was easier. If it doesn't connect after a main com failure in air setting it up would become a lot more difficult and cumbersome than plugging in a standard radio. The other downside is lack of regular charging ports of any kind, even the non-rechargeable Sporty's radio has a USB-C input for emergency power of the radio in addition to readily available AA battery use. While the lipo of the Icom is impressive, you do NEED the cradle and power supply to charge it which is an extra concern when traveling with it. Wish it would charge off USB micro or C as well, or at the very least be capable of running off of it in an emergency situation.