What exactly is it you are trying to filter out? I would disagree slightly with other opinions in that these do nothing. Particulate filters and carbon block filters can remove Chlorine and large debris which can cause deposits in your system. That said, I would agree they don't do much. To really reduce particles you probably want a larger, 2 stage filtration system with catalytic carbon. While carbon block will reduce chlorine, catalytic carbon reduces chlorine and chloramine - the latter is now becoming more commonly used in water treatment. If you are concerned about drinking water, in order to have truly clean water, you would need to look at an under the sink RO. But the 2 suggestions I offered are expensive. As is with most things, you get what you pay for.
I have looked into table top RO units, but ultimately we just take 2, 5 gallon water jugs of RO water from the house for drinking.