nah not really.. I just looked into it some more and it looks pretty much identical to the zoo med one. Marketing is a tricky business and companies like to throw out terms that make you think your getting something special. ALL thermostats use incremental power which makes them thermostats and not rheostat which is simply a fancy dimmer.
Honestly it all boils down to what your comfortable with. Some people use these products and they meet all of their expectations/ needs and who am I to argue against that. Personally I know lots of breeders and reptile owners that use the RT500 and laugh at me for spending hundreds more then they do for my thermostats.
For me - I'll stick with the Herpstat.
Cheers!