By Andrew Liszewski
Except for the occasional button my sewing skills are non-existent but that doesn’t mean a high-tech looking sewing machine can’t grab my attention. The Artista 730E from Bernina presumably runs some version of Windows CE and from what I can tell will also interface with a Windows PC. Besides all the usual sewing machine features the 730E is also capable of embroidering detailed designs that can be viewed and edited on the built-in touch-screen LCD.
In fact if you get tired of the built-in library of 100 embroidery designs you can import and export additional designs a few different ways. The machine has a USB connection for downloading new designs from your PC or can use a proprietary memory card format that can be purchased with preloaded patterns. Alternately you can connect to the company’s ‘myartista’ website and download new designs there. But if you don’t have a PC there’s also an optional CD-ROM attachment that can be used to read CD-based design collections.
At about $7,000-8,000 the Artista 730E is probably more aimed at businesses rather than embroidery hobbyists. But it could be a great way to turn that hobby into something more profitable.
[ Bernina Artista 730E ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]
Pretty cool! But why in the world would they decide to use a proprietary memory card format. It is a bit pricey, but I’m sure that price will drop significantly when the novelty and newness wears off a bit.