Waiting for an AP510/AVRT5 APRS tracker

I just ordered an AP510/AVRT5 APRS tracker and am anxious to get my hands on it to try it out. I like the small size and the fact that it is self contained - no external wires are needed to have a fully functional tracker for the automatic packet reporting system APRS: But is it useful or just a toy?

The specifications from the Amazon.co.uk site are (adapted from Chinglish):

• SainSonic AVRT5 APRS Tracker VHF with GPS/Bluetooth/Thermometer/TF Card, Support of APRSdroid
• GPS module: SIRF3 module, high sensitivity, fast positioning, stable power.
• GPS antenna: 18mm x 18mm active GPS antenna, built-in LNA amplification, Star Search, locate quickly.
• VHF Module (1W): The latest 1W VHF transceiver modules, small size, high stability for all types of wireless data transmission.
• VHF antennas are individually matched to transmitter to ensure that the standing wave ratio is proper and the emission is efficient.

I also signed up for the Yahoo group AP510 AVRT5 APRS.

What attracted me were the reviews given by DK7XE, DJ7OO (German), and APRS.facile.fr (French) and the descriptions at Radioddity and Sparky's blog,

It is evident that the 2. harmonic suppression leaves something to be desired, that the antenna is inefficient, that the programming interface isn't the easiest to deal with, and that it can be hard to set the frequency for people in countries such as Norway with PC's set for "," rather than "." as the decimal point. Hopefully I can figure out ways to deal with all these and also other issues that may show up.