The new Silhoutte Cameo

I pulled this photo off the Beach Scrapbooks blog from their post about the new Cameo released at CHA 2011.  I never jumped on the electronic die cutter bandwagon, whether it was the Crucut, Wishblade or Slice.  And even though CTMH just released the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, I am seriously considering the new Silhoutte Cameo.

Paying for an entire cartridge that only contained a few images of interest, never made sense to me.  And although all the images on the new CTMH cart look fabulous and coordinate with a ton of our stamps sets and Dimensional Elements chipboard shapes, I can not justify purchasing a Cricut for that reason only.  So if I'm jumping on board, I think I'll wait for the Silhoutte Cameo being released in October.

Of course, if you have an electronic die cutter, please feel free to comment and sway me one way or the other.  Maybe I haven't thought everything through, even though I'm referred to as the "queen of research" by my family.  Here's the newest info released on the Silhoutte Cameo machine.

What is the Silhouette Cameo?
Silhouette America has just announced a new larger format Silhouette called the Silhouette Cameo. While this has been announced, it will not yet be available for purchase until later this year (projected October 2011).  The Silhouette Cameo which will offer the following features:

- true 12" width cutting area (with the ability to cut an actual 12" rather than a 11.5" cutting area like other comparable machines)
- will include 13" x 13.5" mat to provide a 12" x 12" cutting area for materials that require a mat
- ability to cut longer custom lengths for materials with their own adhesive backing
- optical scanner for "Print & Cut" applications
- compatible with Silhouette Studio® allowing you to cut fonts and images from your PC or Mac®
- cuts vinyl, paper, cardstock, fabric, etc just like the Silhouette SD
- the machine uses the same size of blade and sketch pen as the Silhouette SD, so all of your current accessories are compatible
- quieter operation during cutting process

What will be the price of the Silhouette Cameo?
 The Silhouette Cameo will be offered at a suggested retail price of $299.99.

When will the Cameo be available to purchase? 
The new Silhouette Cameo will be available for purchase later this year (projected October 2011).
 
Will the Cameo be compatible with my current Silhouette Studio and Silhouette Online account purchases?
The Silhouette Cameo will be compatible with the Silhouette Studio software, though you will be required to update to a newer version once the Cameo is released. Updating to this newer version (once available) will not require you to re-download your images and all previously downloaded content from the Silhouette Online Store or other files you may have created will be compatible with the new Silhouette Cameo model.