Atomic Cobalt vs Galileo Luna

[Hatul]

I believe in a few years the passive backlit LCD display will be a thing of the past in dive computers. I remember the evolution of the Palm Pilot to color display, and underwater the lack of light makes this even more likely. We'll be charging our dive computers just as we charge our cell phones. The trend has already started.

Adam

 

[CPH]

We'll be charging our dive computers just as we charge our cell phones. The trend has already started.

That is the LAST thing I would want. your away for a long weekend diving and you do not get a chance to charge your computer. No thanks. That is one reason I chose against the Icon HD. You can flatten the battery in three dives. Not for me I'm afraid.
You don't charge your watch everyday so why charge you computer.

 

[RonR]

That is the LAST thing I would want. your away for a long weekend diving and you do not get a chance to charge your computer. No thanks. That is one reason I chose against the Icon HD. You can flatten the battery in three dives. Not for me I'm afraid.
You don't charge your watch everyday so why charge you computer.

One of the design requirements we worked with in developing the Cobalt was that one should be able to confidently do a week long live aboard trip- with 4-5 hours of diving per day- without needing to recharge the battery. At the time we decided to go with a Li Ion battery there were no other rechargeable dive computers on the market, and we felt a short battery life would lead to a real acceptance problem. There are a lot of design details involved in making a device very power efficient, but if you want a color screen, to have that kind of battery life pretty much dictates an AMOLED display. We get about 30 to 60 hours of actual diving time (> 6 months standby) on a charge, mostly determined by the chosen screen brightness settings. Non color screens, of course, like the Luna, can be incredibly power efficient if backlighting isn't used much.

Ron

 

[Hatul]

That is the LAST thing I would want. your away for a long weekend diving and you do not get a chance to charge your computer. No thanks. That is one reason I chose against the Icon HD. You can flatten the battery in three dives. Not for me I'm afraid.
You don't charge your watch everyday so why charge you computer.

The other way to deal with the problem is to swap batteries. So you can take more than one battery on your dive weekend and extend the life before having to charge.

I recall hearing similar protests when the Palm Pilot went from alkaline batteries to Li-Ion rechargeables, many preferred the alkalines with the reflective display which lasted for weeks. But eventually the color with rechargeable batteries won out.

The worst situation, from what I hear, is the Liquivision XEO which requires changing primary batteries (non-rechargeable) every few dives.

Adam

 

[jbhouse2]

Great advice from everyone! I think I go with the Luna. It fits the bill for what I need and battery life is very important to me.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Wrist mount is what I want (actually, upper forearm mount) so there was only one choice. That being said, I did find that the Sol had some advantages, and that the compass (yes, that is important for me) operated much better than on the Cobalt in terms of showing not only reciprocals, but also 90 and 120 degree marks from the set bearing, fantastic for square or triangle swim patterns.

Also, the trimix upgrade is out there and being test dived right now by dealers and trimix certified divers. So, it will be here soon enough.

I am always skeptical of air integration via transmitter and view this only as a convenience. I will never give up my spg and will always check it regularly. Still, if the transmitter seems to work, it is very handy to have all the info right there on my arm when doing photography/videography. I also like wrist mount for monitoring safety and deco stops.

Battery life is 100-200 dives, enough said. Atomic is a little behind, but Mares Icon totally unacceptable.

Display is actually very nice. There is also the option for how much info is displayed, and the size of the display. This is fantastic for "older" eyes and the "lite" display is absolutely huge with just the basic info in clear view (which is what I want).

Do I love color, yes I do! Still, on balance, I like the display function and flexible cofiguration, the algorithim, and the compass better, plus Uwatec's philosophy of software updates so it truly is the last computer hardware you will need for many years. 3 year warranty when bought from a dealer!!! Finally, full tech capability coming soon with trimix.

This is no knock on the Atomic, but just my explanation of what was more important for me.

 

[fdarden]

I have had my Cobalt for a few months now. Trust me, battery life is not an issue. That is what turned me off to other computers. Also, the computer can be charged over usb, as long as you have the usb dongle with it. Just did a night dive with it last night. My buddy commented on how that was definitely the wave of the future. I watched him on each dive struggling to read his computer. He said he was able to read mine without even trying from 5 feet away during our safety stop. For me there was no debating. I had to have a large bright screen to be able to read the computer in the first place. (I have over 40 eyes) I could easily see me placing my dive watch on the boat bench "just for a sec" and smashing it with a tank, or scratching it up in a tussle with a lobster or some other critter. I absolutely recommend the cobalt after owning two of them. Another HUGE benefit is that my wife has no issues operating hers. Its simple, intuitive, and she likes it. That is a hurdle very few manage to cross

 

[Hatul]

Wrist mount is what I want (actually, upper forearm mount) so there was only one choice. That being said, I did find that the Sol had some advantages, and that the compass (yes, that is important for me) operated much better than on the Cobalt in terms of showing not only reciprocals, but also 90 and 120 degree marks from the set bearing, fantastic for square or triangle swim patterns.

Also, the trimix upgrade is out there and being test dived right now by dealers and trimix certified divers. So, it will be here soon enough.

I am always skeptical of air integration via transmitter and view this only as a convenience. I will never give up my spg and will always check it regularly. Still, if the transmitter seems to work, it is very handy to have all the info right there on my arm when doing photography/videography. I also like wrist mount for monitoring safety and deco stops.

Battery life is 100-200 dives, enough said. Atomic is a little behind, but Mares Icon totally unacceptable.
.

I think the comparison should have been the Mares Icon vs the Luna/Sol as the Cobalt is console so it all depends on whether you like console or wrist.

I had a chance to handle the Icon for a couple of weeks. The display is very nice, much higher resolution than the Sol and of course color on top. The battery is rechargeable and lasts a few dives, but it charges fast and can be charged from any USB port or even battery powered USB charger. You can charge it from a laptop on battery power. There are only a few settings where this would not work. The big benefit is a bright display for night diving.

The Sol does have more functions and from what I read Uwatec support is much better than Mares.

Adam