Somehow I stopped getting notifications on this thread, but will try to belatedly respond to the questions above:
Cobalt should start shipping out at the end of this week or the beginning of next- very happy to be able to say that with some certainty. In typical Atomic fashion every unit is being tested prior to shipping, so the orders won't all ship at once.
re. Batteries: these do work as advertised, about 40-50 hours of diving time and many months of standby power. We have had them running for a couple of years without issues. Eventually they, like all batteries, will need to be replaced- though the estimated life will allow for years of use. Replacement will be a (very easy- 5 minute) dealer job- only because of the O-ring and pressure relief will need to be reset, and the fact that it is a specialized battery and connector you will need to get from a dealer. While you can send it back to Atomic, that should not be necessary. The battery compartment on the Cobalt is isolated from the electronics, so replacing the battery is on the order of sealing a camera housing. I don't have any info on cost, but it should not be much.
re. the algorithm questions: It's very difficult to say anything general that isn't complete nonsense, but... The Cobalt is somewhere in the middle ground for conservatism. It's hard to know what is meant by any individual regarding algorithm conservatism- length of no-stop times, lower penalties for repetitive or multi- day diving, shorter or longer deco schedules once you enter deco, required deep stops or safety stops? And on what kind of dive profiles? We have had a lot of people diving them alongside other computers, and we are not the most liberal or the most conservative. Cobalt does require deep stops in deco and when near no-deco limits, some might see that as a more conservative profile. My (very subjective) observation is that dive computer algorithms generally are becoming more alike in their behavior.
re. Constant PPO2: Well, the hardware and algorithm can certainly do constant PPO2. This model, being an integrated console, is seen as primarily a recreational product. As such, we want to keep the interface uncomplicated. Constant PPO2 and trimix would be something we expect to offer in the future, as a different model.
