I just played with this set up yesterday. I've taken longarm classes, have quilted on Janome 6600, and for the past 3 years the HQ Sweet 16. I am not a fan of the tru-stitch regulator on the Sweet 16, I find it too restricting and jerky, so I don't have it. The stitch regulation on the Simpy 16 is comparable to a long arm, and I loved it! I would purchase a long arm if I had the room, but don't...this seems to be a great alternative and the "emboidery hoop" style of loading the quilt would not bother me as it is way less cumbersome than dragging the quilt around on a table top. I don't see how you would baste on it though, so I think we would still have to deal with the dreaded pre-basting.
Space is still an issue for me, this one takes up from between 6-8' x 8-10'...its got me thinking though...