Spending too much on my cats, part two: Should I buy a Litter Robot?

Well, it's been three months since I adopted Ruby and Dolly Parton and despite a few mishaps—a little pee on the bed, my ceramic Buddha no longer has a head and the bottoms of my dresses now have a kind of "de-constructed" look—things have gone swimmingly. I love these cats and I can't imagine my life without them. What I can imagine my life without is the smell of their litter boxes in my not-very-big apartment. We've tried all kinds of litter. The natural ones smell within an hour and the chemical ones don't smell, but scare me (some are made with known carcinogens. No, no, no.). Because I can't literally be manning the box after every visit, and because I equally don't love the scent when I get home, I really don't know what to do. I've heard good things about the Litter Robot, which waits seven minutes after your cat leaves the box and then begins to slowly turn and sift solid waste out of the clean litter and deposits it into a drawer in the base of the unit. You're supposed to only have to empty the drawer once a week.

Sounds like a dream, but here's the rub: The Litter Robot costs $330. YIKES! I'll totally pay it if I have to, but I need to know: does this thing work?
Does anyone have any experience with the Litter Robot?
Or perhaps another suggestion?
HELP.