Here's my two cents since I just used one last week for the first time.
Great idea and once they get it right I'll be first in line. I'll explain at the end.
Pluses:
- heads up is great
- Oceanic did it right with the information they provide. Not too much, not too little.
Downsides:
- yes, you get used to the reduced viz with the mask; but in the end you end up with a high-volume mask that DOES limit visibility
- heavy above water, positive buoyancy under
- yes you can be aware of conditions to not lose your mask, but s**t happens; you can't control the diver that kicks of your mask (happened to me), I lost my mask once when the arm of my camera took it off on a boat dive - tethering makes me nervous but would work and so does insurance - still a downside since a wrist or hose mounted device isn't easily lost.
By the way: Contacts OK, but I would go with corrective lenses as I'm near-sighted. If you are far-sighted I would think you have no option but contacts.
As to what it would take for me to buy a heads up:
- I think of heads up as what you see in a fighter plane. You can see thru the display. They do make LCD displays that you can see thru.
- Make it work on any mask. Gets rid of the fitting problem, high volume mask problem, and visibility
- Would love to see a slightly bigger display, not one limited by how much it blocks the lens
Price is an issue, but even when I was offered the opportunity to buy the mask I turned it down. Too many limitations and this is a first generation device. Being a retired electrical engineer from the big computer chip manafacturer I know that a better rig can, and will, be made.