I used to have one of these AOR 'tune in anything' jobbies that was great (but cost £300) until some light fingered toe rag lifted it one day!
As a replacement, I bought the AR-108 and have had it ever since (bought rechargeable batteries with it as well). It's a great set - only drawback is due to the size, the speaker struggles to cope when being used in an environment with a lot of background noise. If you turn up the wick too far, it gets distorted. It fits in a shirt pocket and, as you say, is great for listening to ATIS or monitoring tower / approach frequencies when you're trying to assess how busy things are and whether to go for circuits or get out of the zone!
I've heard good things about the Icom; it's robust but expensive and a bit dated these days. Sportys Pilot Shop also sell Tx/Rx which may be a bit cheaper, but are US manufactured which makes warranty claims a bit more complex!