So, Will Shearwater offer Gas Integration

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Isn't that like wishing for a Bugatti Veyron with "park assist" :)
 
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Maybe, but I find park assist very convenient!

More seriously as to why, first let me state that I always dive with an spg, but AI is nice for me, because I often carry a bulky camera which requires two hands and it is very nice to have the convenience of seeing my gas info with a glance at my wrist, instead of having to take my eye off the shot, move the camera, grab the spg, and take a look, re-clip it, re-position the camera, etc. The AI is a serious benefit to me while I dive, and if I lose the signal (something that has never happened even with current scubapro tech), I always know the spg is there. So, Shearwater would have a very willing customer in me, and I don't think I am alone, which would be good all around for this great company.
 
After looking the 2 over, it seems like the only change is the compass? Can the petrel 1 be upgraded to the 2?
 
To bad about the AI. While there seems to be little demand for it from technical divers, there are recreational divers who'd like it, and the added revenues from sales to them might off-set the added R&D involved in offering it to those who want it.

Richard.
 
Whenever discussions about the Petrel & A.I. come up, I see some culture clash between rec. & tec. divers. It used to strike me as odd; tec. divers seem to prefer wrist units, and having to stop & look at an SPG detracts from that benefit. Yes, a Petrel can give you wrist access to depth & NDL, but if you still have to grab the SPG to check your pressure...

Then, in another thread where people hashed this issue out thoroughly, I learned something about tec. divers (at least I think it did, if I understood correctly); they tend to be so aware of their own personal & gear operating performance, and to plan their dives so thoroughly, that they roughly know their gas pressure over the course of the dive, and occasionally glance at the SPG to double-check that.

This is much different from what a lot of recreational divers do.

For Shearwater to 'keep it simple & reliable so as to be excellent' for their core tec. diver market made some sense. Then they added that recreational mode... Plus, I see the Petrel often recommended on the forum to fairly new recreational divers looking for a computer, based on the idea that it's a great computer with great support from a great company. So it's moved toward the recreational market.

Whether Shearwater will ever move to offer A.I. as an option for rec. divers who want it I don't know. Maybe someday.

Richard.

P.S.: Due to gear configuration for soloing & having 2 anyway, I use 2 dive computers; an old Cobalt 1 console (so in effect, I've got SPG functionality) and an old Oceanic VT3 with transmitter (so I've got A.I. functionality, too). I don't see (or particularly need) pressure on my wrist as a big deal, but it is a nice perk.
 
Shearwater already dipped their toes into the Rec market with the OC/Rec mode (thank you!).

Since the Rec market is dramatically larger than the Tec market, they should split their offerings into the Petrel, and the "Guppy".

The Guppy has OC/Rec, AI, etc.

The Petrel remains as it is, for the Tec crowd.

I mean come on, the electronic parts for the AI receiver stuff costs, what, $10 or $20 in volume? Plus whatever the transmitter is?

Lots of money for Shearwater to make in the Rec market.....if I was a major shareholder in SW I'd fire the CEO if he didn't go for the Rec market.

And I think that is exactly what they are doing, going into the Rec market. First Rec mode, then compass, then....????
 
For Shearwater to 'keep it simple & reliable so as to be excellent' for their core tec. diver market made some sense.
Does it really matter for which market their computers are intended? As long as they keep their computers simple & reliable they will always be able to sell more computers than they can manufacture. Those two things are exactly the reason I and many others find the Petrel attractive. Those things are missing in my opnion in rec computers.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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