iPhone Dive Computer

[DiveNav]

...... I wonder to what depth they have tested it....

They say 100ft on their website

......Now if you could take calls at 100ft, that would really be interesting! ......

Check these videos out

 

[Bonuss]

I like how it says "replace $1000 worth of gear...", while the unit plus an iPhone cost 650+, which is still far more expensive than my traditional gauges. I think it's very cool that they were able to make this idea happen, but don't find it practical by any means. Kind of like the space pen... why not use a pencil? lol

I believe their intended market are people who already use their iphone ubiquitously (10's of millions of users); AND scuba dive with a dive computer. So if you don't have an iphone now and/or prefer traditional gauges, this would not likely apply to those people. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

There will likey be ample users interested in this product. Not necessarily me (avid iphone user; but don't necessarily want to dive with it... the wife might call!

Bob in CO

 

[CT-Rich]

Looks like a dangerous piece o'cr*p to me. Would you A) trust the case to not leak? 100' isn ot that deep. B) how reliable is the app? C) Are you going to trust a important piece of safety gear to a sort of cool phone thing? If your phone runs out of battery or freezes up or some other quirk of this add on distorts the data (like the case warping or condensation causing a problem are going to be happy with the resulting bends? of course you can also have 911 pre-programed and the local chamber, too.

If you want a phone at 100', feel free to take one with you. If you want a reliable measure of depth, temperature, bottom time just buy a real dive computer, the port the data over to your phone so you can play with it.

 

[randy88k5]

But there is no information about what algorithm they use and how it compares to the leading competitors.

Under Tech Specs, it lists the algorithm as Z-16
I want to know if it goes into deco mode if you overstay your NDL

Housing says it's rated to 130f/40m

It's neat, but I don't want one.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Looks like a dangerous piece o'cr*p to me. Would you A) trust the case to not leak? 100' isn ot that deep. B) how reliable is the app? C) Are you going to trust a important piece of safety gear to a sort of cool phone thing? If your phone runs out of battery or freezes up or some other quirk of this add on distorts the data (like the case warping or condensation causing a problem are going to be happy with the resulting bends? of course you can also have 911 pre-programed and the local chamber, too.

If you want a phone at 100', feel free to take one with you. If you want a reliable measure of depth, temperature, bottom time just buy a real dive computer, the port the data over to your phone so you can play with it.

A) The web site indicates that the case is tested and rated to 130', which is the recreational limit. I trust the case of my Aeris and Suunto computers not to leak.
B) How reliable is any software? Like, say, the software in YOUR dive computer?
C) The iPhone is in airplane mode, so the battery life is 8+ hours. Mine runs 10-11 hours in airplane mode. I don't plan on spending more than that underwater without being able to recharge. Do you have any reason to suggest that the software is any more prone to lockup or crash than the software in your dive computer?

It's not a phone at 100 feet. It's a dive computer. Your post sounds very much like what people used to say about dive computers when they first came out; a knee jerk opposition to new technology (especially when it is an evolutionary, not revolutionary, change) is sooooo 20th century....

 

[Malpaso]

Lousy analogy. The last thing you want in zero gravity is graphite dust and broken off pencil tips entering your lungs. (Or equipment). But you never thought of that... ;-)
.

Actually it was an excellent analogy. There was a big to do when the International Space Station was started that the NASA had spent millions designing the space pen while the Russians used pencils. No graphite issues or broken pencil tips.

 

[Tanked]

Will it let me play Fruit Ninja on my safety stops?

 

[CT-Rich]

Looks like a dangerous piece o'cr*p to me. Would you A) trust the case to not leak? 100' isn ot that deep. B) how reliable is the app? C) Are you going to trust a important piece of safety gear to a sort of cool phone thing? If your phone runs out of battery or freezes up or some other quirk of this add on distorts the data (like the case warping or condensation causing a problem are going to be happy with the resulting bends? of course you can also have 911 pre-programed and the local chamber, too.

If you want a phone at 100', feel free to take one with you. If you want a reliable measure of depth, temperature, bottom time just buy a real dive computer, the port the data over to your phone so you can play with it.

Re-reading my post I realize that I come across as a bit strident in my disapproval of the I-gill. Actually, I think I came across as an opinionated ass... So let me give a more thoughtful list of my concerns with this bit of technology.
1) As I said, would you trust it not to leak? I have flooded my share of cameras because I thought I had seated the o-ring properly, only to be proven wrong by reality. Everytime you open the case you risk a grain of sand and a couple of atm ruining your nice toy, in this case the toy that is keeping track of your bottom time.
2) Everytime the phone gets seated in the housing it has to connect perfectly to the telemetry pod, no loose connections and that means if you beaten up by the surf or the side of the boat it works 100% of the time.
3) I am forever reminded of all the gadgets that I wasted money on to make them multi-functional... Have you ever tried to use your laptop as a VCR or even watch TV on a computer? You can but it ever really does any of these multi-task well. I want a dive computer that accurately measures depth, time and temp without fail and I can use something else as a camera (like a camera or a phone...)
4) if you can afford both diving and an i-phone, why not spring for a seperate computer? The housing lists for $330, a cheap dive computer that is probably more reliable can be gotten for that.

Just another quick question: what principle does an I-phone use to determine compass direction? Is it actually reading the magnetic field or is it using GPS and a gyroscope? GPS probably wont work very far underwater.

I will grant that it could be used as a back-up technology, but I still cringe at the thought.....

---------- Post Merged at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:03 PM ----------

Will it let me play Fruit Ninja on my safety stops?

That is actually the best thing I heard about it yet.... Deco-Sudoku

---------- Post Merged at 08:22 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:03 PM ----------

Just another quick question: what principle does an I-phone use to determine compass direction? Is it actually reading the magnetic field or is it using GPS and a gyroscope? GPS probably wont work very far underwater.

Just looked it up and it does read the magnetic field based on the Hall effect. goes to show... google first and ask questions later...

 

[tridacna]

Actually it was an excellent analogy. There was a big to do when the International Space Station was started that the NASA had spent millions designing the space pen while the Russians used pencils. No graphite issues or broken pencil tips.

Actually it was a really lousy analogy. NASA never spent a dime developing the Fisher Pen. If you repeat nonsense often enough, people will eventually believe it. snopes.com: NASA Space Pen

Back to iPhones underwater...

---------- Post Merged at 07:49 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:42 PM ----------

Everytime the phone gets seated in the housing it has to connect perfectly to the telemetry pod, no loose connections and that means if you beaten up by the surf or the side of the boat it works 100% of the time.

Disagree. People trust waterproof cases today with mucho expensive cameras. This argument does not hold water. It may have been the case (second lousy pun) ten years ago but today people are pretty comfortable with UW housings.

 

[Malpaso]

Actually it was a really lousy analogy. NASA never spent a dime developing the Fisher Pen. If you repeat nonsense often enough, people will eventually believe it. snopes.com: NASA Space Pen

And you can believe Snopes like most of the "authorities" on the intardweb. My friend was part of the project that introduced the spacepen and was at the press conference when the Cosmonaut used the "pencil" quote.