I think there is a place for it. I know a few "casual" RC pilots who fly simple electrics and stuff at school grounds and parks and a couple guys that have older glow planes that they might drag out 1-2 times per year. They have no need for the more expensive computer radios but upgrading to 2.4GHz would be a good idea. Something like this makes sense for them. Or say someone has a kid who wants to fly. You wouldn't want to go out and buy them a Futaba 12FG to fly around a 4-channel trainer only to have them lose interest in a few weeks. Get them something like this then upgrade later if it turns out they are serious. It will work fine for their trainer and probably second and third airplanes.