Fluval U-4; any input?

Kind of along the same lines. I've used the Fluval submersibles (304) for ages in my 55 and my 150, and have loved them. The one in my 55 is showing its age, so I looked at PetsMart today, and it's a whole new Fluval world. These look slightly more complex, although the box touts the "ease of media changes". (the 304s are a piece of cake anyway). My big issue is that the 304s have an air intake where I put my looong piece of tubing (the fishes love to knock them out of place) and a Venturi valve. I really like the strong air exchange near the top of the tank, and the new ones don't have that; there's just a valve on the front. I have big geos in that tank, and I like to keep it moving.
Has anybody tried them yet? They're not exorbitantly expensive, but they're pricier than the older models.
(And lordy, if I needed a computerized gizmo to tell me when to change media, I'd get out of the hobby) That's just kind of silly.