so.. these things look cool. do they work well?

obviously, they're not the new standard.

From what I've heard, they're great sounding but have some flaws.
Flashes from cameras can make them ping badly, since they're optical pickups and all. Has to hit them at just the wrong angle though. A few other minor complaints.
Basically from what I've seen people love the tone, but are put off by the 'newness' and possibility of flakiness. I have yet to get my hands on one, but I keep trying to find one.

FWIW:

I've got one I bought right after they started making their own. Different and nothing like a mag pup. Basically a P oriented tone. I've rarely palyed it in the two years I've had it. I prefer mags. It's does a very good URB tone with the peizo.

The bass itself is decent. Light, balanced, comfortable. Decent craftsmanship. I noticed a recent lightwave system on ebay so someone probably pulled it from the bass in lieu of a mag pup, which is not that uncommon. You can add a mag pup to one but it's not tied into the optic system. There's only room for one pup cause of the way the neckjoint's designed.

There's a review under Dimento's P pup experiment in FAQ and there are a number of reviews on harmonycentral.com.

You can get them on ebay for $300 - $500