New Teric and nitpicking

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I have no way to know for sure, but my suspicion is that the bulk of the demand is not coming from people who are replacing existing SW computers. The ones my shop has sold have all been to people replacing a low-end computer or buying a second computer, so they can dive with 2 computers. Except for me, of course.

My local LDS believe its people that wanted a Perdix AI but were never really into the arm computer setup so they could never justify the cost of buying Shearwater. These are typically recreational divers that might do the occasional decompression dive/course. With Teric its changed the game as you get everything and more in a watch style computer which is more inline with what most people want to be using. (most people are not hardcore technical divers, but that does no stop them dreaming about it). Its also a no compromise purchase, as you know it can do everything and more......deep down when you buy a lower end recreational computer you know if you want to keep progressing you are going to need a more advance computer at some point (even if you never get that far)........the Teric really is an aspirational purchase and has no real competition in its segment right now.
 
My local LDS believe its people that wanted a Perdix AI but were never really into the arm computer setup so they could never justify the cost of buying Shearwater. These are typically recreational divers that might do the occasional decompression dive/course. With Teric its changed the game as you get everything and more in a watch style computer which is more inline with what most people want to be using. (most people are not hardcore technical divers, but that does no stop them dreaming about it). Its also a no compromise purchase, as you know it can do everything and more......deep down when you buy a lower end recreational computer you know if you want to keep progressing you are going to need a more advance computer at some point (even if you never get that far)........the Teric really is an aspirational purchase and has no real competition in its segment right now.

I totally agree. And, those people you're talking about are the same ones I was talking about when I said "people who are not replacing an existing SW computer."

The Perdix is not sexy. The Teric has everything that is good about the Perdix, some stuff that's better, AND it is dead sexy!

And, when you compare it to its non-Shearwater competition, like the ScubaPro G2, Ratio iX3M, Divesoft Freedom, HW OSTC 2/3/4, Suunto Eon Steel/Core, etc., the price is very reasonable as well! Same even when compared to its recreational competition, it's pretty reasonable. Generally more expensive, but not a lot more expensive and it's easy to see what you're getting for the extra money.
 
Folks, over the course of the last month I was able to put in a few dozen dives with the Teric and thought it might be helpful if I share my first hand impressions as a follow up on my previous unboxing evaluation. First of all, I am very happy to report that the Teric is a solid piece of engineering and performs marvelously. Hands down, this is the best computer currently on the market.

This said, I still see room for improvement in the Teric, so in the interest of product improvement...

Three of my previous observations (buttons confusion, settings layout regression, GTR calculations, lack of alerts control, limited customization of info bar) still stand. To add to this, I now feel even more so that the info bar is clunky the way it is designed. There are no less than 12 (twelve!) info bar screens that the user can visit in OC Tech mode. They do contain a ton of useful information, but the trouble is the diver can only visit them sequentially in their predetermined order. Only the first one is customizable at all. I often times found myself wanting to check a few specific bits of info during long deco stops (time, CNS%, GF values, etc) only to have a face off with the single-direction info bar screen sequencing. My experience went something like: click, click, darn (still not what I need), click, darn, click... ah finally! I tried to train myself to embrace the logic of the info bar, but the experience did not change. These 12 screens in the order they are in must have made sense to somebody at Shearwater, but they sure don't fit my thinking.

Ok, so it is cool that the info bar can show the precise pressure in mBars compared to the surface, but how is that useful in the midst of a dive? 12 screens I need to tab through to get to the 3-4 bits of information that I need. If only there was a way to customize the order of the screens, suppress some of them that you don't care about, be able to navigate them bidirectionally the experience could be better.

Trying to describe the info bar experience takes a lot of words. I don't want to make it sound like a big deal. It's not really terrible per se, but it's not great either. If I were Shearwater, I would take a closer look at that and see how it could be improved.

My second piece of feedback should not come as a surprise to anyone who has bought into the Teric. Shearwater Desktop is unable to download the dives from the new computer and the user is forced to download its successor, Shearwater Cloud Desktop (SCD). Well, let me tell you, Shearwater Desktop was not a great dive log software, but it was serviceable. SCD UI/usability/features are as bad as bad gets (using MacOS). I can relate to the challenges of writing desktop software that is supposed to work and be supported across the modern proliferation of platforms. Java, Adobe Air, Unity, etc solve some problems but create a lot of other challenges. I am yet to see a good dive log software coming out from a dive computer manufacturer, but SCD sets a new bar of how sucky these can be.

The good news is that Subsurface supports dive data downloads from the Teric over bluetooth, so that solves this problem for users like me. It's not perfect, but is light years better than SCD.

Ok, so clearly even Shearwater has not cracked the dive log software problem. Developing good cross-platform software is tricky (read, an expensive hassle). Treating it as an afterthought to be farmed out on the cheap does not produce results consistent with the value proposition of a top brand like Shearwater. So, instead of struggling with something that is clearly out of the competence and budget of a computer manufacturer, why not spare the budget that is getting wasted on producing subpar software and give some support to a reputable open source effort producing a better dive log software compatible with most dive computers out there? Makes good common sense, doesn't it? But, ok, we know that business people won't get it, so let's move on.

At the end of the day, I am as happy as one can be with the Teric. It is the best dive computer money can get these days. If you can afford it, go for it. Just let's hope that Shearwater continues their good work on improving their already fine products.
 
I think they are selling so fast Shearwater is really struggling to keep up with orders. My shop was told the Teric is on an 8 week back order.
We have the Teric in stock if anyone is interested.
 
I got mine. Bees knees!!!!
 
The Perdix is not sexy. The Teric has everything that is good about the Perdix, some stuff that's better, AND it is dead sexy!

.

Well my Perdix is. No lipstick added. Sorry to disagree Stuart.:) And I won't part with it.:D
 
I like the Perdix very much too and am not in any hurry to sell mine. There is something to be said about the good screen size, the feel of the tap actuators, the support for standard batteries, the menu design, how comfortably it mounts over a dry-suit with the elastic straps wile also serving as a convenient line cutter mount point. The perfect brick-style computer. Ah, and it is less pricey than the watch-style cousin.

So, I am planning on using my Perdix interchangeably with the Teric and as a backup computer when needed (I'd feel silly sporting two Terics on such occasions). Still, I think the Teric will be my primary for most general dives from now on.
 
My experience went something like: click, click, darn (still not what I need), click, darn, click... ah finally!

My experience is similar with the exception of the occasional click, click, click - that's it...click oops (past it before i recognized it), click -x12...

Honestly though, this is clearest, most legible display underwater that I've ever had the pleasure of using. Even on shallow dives in direct Sun light (typical safety stop) the screen is still clear and easy to read. This was definitely not the case with my i750 where the screen was washed out by the Sun and needed to be shaded to be read.
 
Not bigger - but better. It has better color, way better contrast (inky black background) and better off axis viewing. It's a bigger difference in person than this picture shows (not that the Perdix is bad):
View attachment 485447

View attachment 485450


STOP with the pictures!!! I just got my perdix A.I. earlier this year and do not want more incentive to make it a backup to a teric.... or do I..... oh man oh man oh man I want that teric too. Id take a baseball bat to my suunto novo zoop immediately. God I hate zoops
I have no rational reason to buy the teric with a perdix already.... not needed. I think im sick in the head....
 
The Teric is a higher resolution screen than the Perdix, so text is actually sharper. You'd be surprised as to how readable the smaller Teric screen is next to a Perdix, especially in BIG mode - but do check it out yourself as my eyes are still quite good at close range!

View attachment 485574

Also color on the Teric is pretty customizable - below are the different selectable themes you can choose and you can also do your own custom color schemes. In addition, the ascent indicator is color coded whcih is nice as well. All-in-all, there is a better use of color (and customizable color) on the Teric verus the Perdix. Whether that is meaningful is up the individual user!

Standard:
View attachment 485575

Sunlight:
View attachment 485576

Predator:
View attachment 485577

Night:
View attachment 485578


Oh noes!!! predator mode aaaand night mode???!!! egads, must have, no sarcasm intended
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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