There’s a solid adrenaline-soaked profile of Oakley’s efforts in the wearables space written up in Stuff magazine’s website. Execs brag that the Airwave HUD goggle is just the start of what they’re planning (and not really the start either: Oakley says it started with wearables in 2004 with its Thump MP3 glasses frame).
On the one hand, the Airwave is just a good Oakley goggle with a Recon Snow2 module plugged in. But Oakley claims, not without reason, that their value-add is the user interface. It’s likely to be true; Oakley understands its market and its customers well, and the technology itself is only the starting point for a great experience.
“The future for us,” says Calilung, “is deciding what the vast majority of our users are going to do and then making our UI modular or offering some form of hardware modularity or customisability. That’s the only way you can do it… A sports enthusiast could use their eyewear for running, cycling or playing golf. I don’t want that person to necessarily have a golf glass – I want them to have our performance glass.”
A smart company, and a good article.