Remember Project Glass, the Google glasses that featured a heads-up-display and the option for augmented reality? Yeah, that was quite the big ticket news item for fans of cyberpunk and people who felt smartphones were becoming a little passe. Well, it seems that the world of sporting goods doesn’t want to be left out of the loop either!

They are known as the Oakley Airwave goggles, a set of eye wear that allows skiers to to consult stats on a heads-up-display while they are on the sloped. Amongst the information that skiers can project into their field of view are such stats as distance, temperature, speed and altitude. In addition, the goggles have a wireless connection feature which will keep the user apprised of their incoming calls and text messages. No word yet if emails will be included, but one thing at a time I guess 😉

I can remember my father telling me that you could tell if a person was important based on whether or not they carried a cell phone. According to him, unimportant people carried cell phones to look important; whereas important people didn’t need them because people waited on them. Having one only meant that you were on call wherever you were. And I don’t know about you, but the slopes is one place I don’t want to be reached! That’s why I go there in the first place!

Still, it’s a cool concept as far as hands free communication and networking are concerned. Coupled with Project Glass and other such products, this new wave of devices is paving the way for a future in which cell phones are obsolete. I imagine Apple and Blackberry are going to have something to say about this, or possibly an even more revolutionary product in mind. Only time will tell…

Check out this video of the goggles in action:

Source: news.cnet.com