Mine is being returned ASAP. I bought it to replace a fully functioning Expression. I am disappointed in the size of the screen, it's much smaller than I had anticipated. I have to take my glasses off to see it and select keys. This isn't a problem of the machine, it's my nearsighted eyes. Viewing the Gypsy this way is easy, I can sit down, sort out what I need to, create my design, then plug it into my E to cut. Doing this with the E2 required me to stand up in an awkward position for a few minutes for every cut.
What I noticed right away is that it isn't as well-made as my E. The blade housing is plastic, and the drive band inside seems quite flimsy compared to my current machine.
My E2 didn't arrive damaged. It arrived quickly, 2 days after I ordered it. I spent a few days reviewing videos so that I would know how to use the functions. I set it up, and was able to size the design that I chose. For whatever reason, I couldn't get the design to cut at the size that I needed. I was trying to cut a phrase and a shadow, and the two wouldn't turn out properly no matter what I tried. I even tried a different cartridge, in case my cartridge images weren't correct. Same issue - the sizes were very inconsistent.
I made sure the "real dial" button wasn't selected. I even went back in after a few cuts and turned it on, since I thought that maybe I had gotten it turned ON instead of OFF. Highlighting the button as a darker color doesn't show that the button is selected or not when there are only two buttons. How do you know for sure it's ON? It doesn't say that it's on, it just turns a different color, and there is nothing to verify that it's been selected or unselected other than the color change. Poor design.
While I was trying to verify that the design was sized properly, I realized that it takes 8 button taps to get from the size screen to actually cutting the design. There are a lot of verifications of the proper settings, but no size settings without going through several screens. On my Expression, I can verify what size I am cutting without having to scroll through 5 or 6 screens. A quick glance is all that's needed. How frustrating!!
The biggest issue that I had, however, was that after I had cut a design and returned to the mat screen, my image would appear halfway across the mat, as though it was trying to leave a space for the previously cut design, even though I had ejected the mat and inserted a new one. I couldn't get the image to line up in the proper corner of the mat, and couldn't find a setting to change this from happening. I would have to turn the machine off, then restart the whole process.
After spending about 5 hours trying to cut a single usable design, I gave up. I boxed it back up and stuck it into the shipping box. It's going back. The images on the machine are nothing special, they are quite similar to the images on the original Accent Essentials, which I don't use, either. I had thought that Art Nouveau might be nice to have, but the images aren't ones that I'd use, although they are pretty. The images on the Spring Sampler cartridges are mostly ones that I already own on other cartridges, so there is no reason to keep this particular bundle.
And - the wifi? When I heard that there would be a wifi adapter for this machine, I had erroneously thought that we'd be able to access CCR directly from the machine without having to use a computer, much like how my bluray accesses netflix and other online services. Silly me. The wireless adapter is for the output only, to send info wirelessly to the Expression 2 for cutting. For some, that might make sense, but don't people have to be near their Cricut to load mats? Making it wireless is a bit gimicky, it just eliminates a cord.
I'll stick with my regular Expression and the Gypsy for now. I don't think that the learning curve will be worth the benefits of upgrading. And, I've a feeling that there is something wrong with the machine that was sent to me, so I'd rather not mess with getting it fixed, anyway. It's just not worth the frustration after spending $350 for this.