A good spotter such as the one you mention can indeed be used for light-duty stargazing. I sometimes use my Pentax for this, and can easily see the Orion nebula and the Andromeda galaxy. Get a star chart and a small red LED light, and you're set.
However, I would also mention that a set of 20x astronomical binoculars are easier on the eyes to use, and give a wide field of view. Of course you do need a tripod that will be heavier that what you might have gotten away with when using a spotter, but you will want a decent tripod anyway. A decent set of astro binocs are not greatly expensive at all. Around the house, I actually prefer to use my 20x binocs for day and night use over any of my spotters as it's easier to use two eyes instead of just one.
An even better way to go would be an inexpensive dobsonian telescope w/a couple of decent eyepieces, which although will be less expensive than your spotter, will do a better job of stargazing.