gurumasta:is it really worth it to cough up the extra dough and get a computer that features air integration?
Money and air are quite similar in one respect:
If you have enough, there's no problem. If you're running low, you've got decisions to make.
Personally I like having the AI on my Cobra. You'd need a presure gauge anyway, why not have it all in one streamline unit and be able to see everything you'd need to know all in a glance.
Also, I like being able to go through the logbook on the computer after the dive ans see how much air I used, etc. (I invariably forget to note it on a boat before changing tanks.
As to wireless, that's another decision that is about your own personal comfort. Could it die during a dive and you lose the signal to see tank pressure? Sure, but that shouldn't be a problem, because as with any piece of equipment if it fails, you thumb the dive.
Do SPG's have less potential to fail than an AI computer? Maybe. Probably. But you're talking about the difference between "almost never" and "rarely if ever."