I'm hearing good things about the updated technology and would consider getting one now.
Pete Zahut ...
I would just say, the technology is soooo different from just a few years ago. With the lithium-ion batteries standard now, they hold a charge much longer and don't have the "memory" problems with nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries that generally are no longer available for this type of equipment.
I checked around when I bought my stuff but found the 40 volt Ryobi things to be very well recommended and long-lasting. Other brands may serve the purpose too.
But living here in South Florida using these things year-round, I have to say if someone gave me a two-stroke anything that I have to mix gas and oil, push some button 10 times, pull the cord three times, push it again twice, then pull the cord another 10 times or whatever the instructions are and hope it starts while I am sweating my butt off standing in 90 degree weather in the sun, I would hand it back to them and say thank you.
And if you have a gas blower, repeat the process above.
I prefer one squeeze of a button, snap the battery between tools, no smell, little noise and off I go.
Rub a Dub