Mine the Harvest

Wow, check out this new Mares Icon HD dive computer:

* Full color TFT LCD screen
* Built in digital compass
* Dive site map feature
* Very clear presentation of information
* Up to 3 Nitrox gas mixes
* RGBM algorithm

Current cost is about $1,100 US (non air integrated).

From reading on line it also seems the air integrated units will be out end of 1st quarter (now) or 2nd quarter 2010. No official word yet on future trimix support, but as the Uwatec Galileo Sol offers that I can’t imagine that this won’t as well. The Sol has looked pretty interesting, but honestly the Mares Icon HD looks damn good and just might be one of the best and most fully featured dive computers to hit the market yet.  I also like that it uses the RBGM alorithum with deep stops, which I use on my original Nemo and have liked very much.

Watch the very cool demo of it here.

I love the sliding display showing position in the water column and how deep stops, deco and safety stops “slide” into position. What could be easier than that?

Here is one company making dive site maps specifially for it. (Though I imagine a simple command line application of image magick to make images the correct size would do quite nicely.)

Here is a  review of it, and a decent scubaboard.com thread on it can be found here.

One thing I can’t help but think of is the possibility of a device like this that ran on an Android stack. The pros of course being that it could run apps and you would not be exclusively dependent on the manufacturer supplied software, the liability that more complicated software introduces the possibility of bugs and instability. Hummm . . . do you want to risk your life on a Java stack? Then again, if you could play Tux racer while on a deco stop, it just might be worth it.