New minimalist shoes on the horizon

I haven't run much lately, although I've been doing core-work and calisthenics every other day or so, thanks to my seven-year-old.  She saw me doing one workout while we all watched TV and wanted to join in.  Now, she's on me every day to teach her how to work out -- like I have any business teaching anybody any such thing.  But my love for her is boundless, and my desire for a better-looking upper body means my summer is becoming one of squats and lunges, bicep curls and push ups, and lots of crunches.  I've only been doing this faithfully a week or so, but I think my belly is toning up a little. 

Since I don't have any actual running to discuss, I might as well talk about minimalist footwear.  Al Gauthier over at Living Barefoot brought to my attention a few new minimalist shoes coming out in the next year or so.  I've heard of Skora, but the Kigo and Alterra are new to me.  I'd love to get my hands on a pair of any of these.  Not only do all of these shoes look promising, I doubt my wife and my friends would make fun of me for wearing them like they do with Vibram.  Anything that wins me less mockery is a good thing.  Here are my first impressions.

• Kigo features a four different models that look quite similar to the swim shoes you can buy at Walgreens for $5.  Of course, they look nicer and appear to be much higher quality.  Still, aesthetically, they look like swim shoes to me.  I imagine they give a fair approximation of barefoot running, what with their extremely thin sole, but I worry that the upper would restrict the natural splay of the toes.  They retail for $40 to $70 depending on the model.
• Alterra will be selling their Adam and Eve shoes in the fall of this year.  Adam, as you might imagine, is the male version; Eve is for the ladies.  These look like souped-up swim shoes.  The key difference, and the one that makes me much more interested in trying them out, is that the toe box is much wider than with the Kigos, allowing the toes more room for doing their thing.  Apart from what I see on their website, I know nothing else about the shoe, not even what they will cost.  Still, they look interesting.
• Skora -- still in the R&D phase, it seems -- seems to be shooting for a design that resembles racing flats.  The concept drawings in their newsletters are sleek and high-tech looking.  There is much to read but little to actually see at their website, but what I read sounds good.  They seem to be coming from a good place, philosophically.  I'm very interested in seeing what they come up with.

2011 may be the year of barefoot running given all the chatter in the blogosphere and in traditional print media, not to mention the new products and companies sprouting up to support the trend.  We'll see how it goes.