Oceanus has just released a very nice new 5 Motor watch. I recently reviewed an earlier 5 Motor model which I was very impressed with. If you are new to Oceanus watches, Oceanus is a Casio brand which does an excellent job of combining digital technology with a clean and handsome design.

The point of the 5 Motor is to pack a great deal of functionality into a nice looking case without using a single LCD. Why the aversion to LCDs? Simple aesthetics. Having a high-tech watch used to mean trading a clean, classic design for LCDs and big blocky digital numbers. The Oceanus 5 Motor is for men who are geeks at heart, but who don't want to wear their geekiness on their sleeves.

For an in-depth review of the 5 Motor and its features, check out my review of the OCW600TDA-1AV. The OCWM700TDA-1A has the following new features:

• The new 5 Motor is now a multi-band atomic watch, which means it is capable of calibrating in the US, UK, Germany, and in Japan. (Previous models only calibrated in the US and Japan.)
• Tide indicator. After selecting your home city, the new Oceanus 5 Motor will give you a rough indication of the local tides.
• Available in a very nice black IP (ion-plated) finish (titanium version shown here).

Update: Read the Oceanus OCWM700TDA review.

Suunto, a long-time maker of sophisticated sports watches, also has a line of very nice dive computers for both recreational and professional use. In addition to standard timing features, Suunto dive watches will monitor your air pressure, measure depth and water temperature, and compute things like remaining dive time and decompression stops. These watches are not toys -- they are tools to keep divers alive, and hence are priced accordingly.

Suunto has just announced updates to the D9 which is now available with either a rubber strap or a titanium bracelet. Features of the Suunto D9 include:

• Air, nitrox, and gauge modes. Air mode is for diving with standard air, nitrox allows you to use up to three different gas mixtures, and gauge mode is for free-diving (diving without any tank at all).
• Integrated digital compass.
• Altitude adjustment in case your dive doesn't start from sea level (as may be the case with lakes).
• Optional wireless transmitter which attaches to the high-pressure port on your tank and sends pressure data to the D9.
• Low battery warning -- essential for preventing a diver from finding a dead computer mid-dive.
• Temperature measurement.
• Multiple decompression modes.
• All the expected digital watch functions (12/24h modes, multiple alarms, dual time zones, stopwatch, clock, calendar).
• USB interface with PC software for downloading dive logs.
• Graphical interface for depth and dive time.
• Maximum depth reading of 200 meters, or 660 feet.

The Vyper2, a slightly less fancy computer that can also be worn as a gauge, lacks the graphical abilities of the D9 and the pressure transmitter, but it does have all of the dive computer and logging features. It also has larger buttons than the D9 which are probably easier to operate with gloves on.

The Vyper2 will be available "early 2007" as will the titanium version of the D9. The D9 is available in rubber now with a street price of approximately $970 to $1,800, depending on the retailer.

By Paul Hubbard

If you swim for fitness, finding a watch to keep track of lap times is difficult. Most general-fitness watches are cumbersome to use underwater, and often have displays that are hard to read. But there are a couple of innovative products out there that attempt to solve this problem.

The Zoggs Lap Pro is a fairly standard looking digital watch with a large LCD display and a face that acts as one large button which you press to register a lap. Simple, easy to use, and, at $50 online, reasonably priced.  The drawback is that you still have to touch your wrist with your off hand at the end of a lap, which you don't normally do while swimming, but it's better than trying to press a tiny button.

Speedo has a watch called the Fastskin with a large digital readout which is slightly tilted to make it easier to read at a glance. However, other than the display, the fact that it has a stopwatch, is water resistant to 50 feet, and bears the Speedo brand, I'm not sure how this qualifies as a swimming watch.

And then there are the Casio Baby-G Dolphin and Whale models with a couple of interesting features like a dive log and the time at 10 popular dive sites around the world. As it turns out, though, it appears that the Baby-G Dolphin and Whale line is more about saving marine animals than swimming with them since part of the proceeds from each sale goes to environmental protection initiatives. Still, not bad looking Baby-Gs.

Speaking of Casios, the G-Shock GW-400J is a reasonable choice for the water. The vibrating alarm was designed for water sports like swimming, surfing, and water skiing where it's difficult or impossible to hear the typical faint beeps of most alarms. It also sports some interesting water-related features like a tide graph and a thermometer that measures both air and water temperatures.

But if your focus is strictly lap swimming, another solution is a finger-mounted timer like the SportCount. The smaller display is harder to read, but the button is easier to press since it's located right next to your thumb. Like the Zoggs Lap Pro, the SportCount provides fastest, slowest, and average stats, plus a lap counter and total time elapsed. The only problem is that we're watch fanatics, and as such, we'd prefer a wrist-mounted solution like the Zoggs any day of the week.

By Paul Hubbard and Christian Cantrell

For many years now, Seiko has sold a line of mechanical dive watches based on the trusty 7S26 movement (the heart of the watch). They retail for under $200, they are well made and reliable, and they are generally considered to be excellent "beaters".

The problem is that the 7S26 movement is burdened with a couple of design compromises: you can't wind it by hand, and it is a non-hacking movement, which means that when you pull the stem out all the way, the movement doesn't stop as you might expect (making it very difficult to set the watch with much accuracy). Of course, Seiko sells several other watches with better movements, but they cost more.

As of April 2007, that's about to change. Seiko is introducing three new divers based on the 6R15 movement which is more accurate, can be wound by hand, and can be hacked. With stainless steel cases, they come in black (SBDC001), blue (SBDC003), and orange (SBDC005), and will be priced at $428 (63,000 yen).

The 6R15 divers cost a bit more then their predecessors, but still represent excellent value for the money, and are generating a lot of interest on the net. I can safely predict that they'll displace the 7S26 divers from a lot of wrists.

By Paul Hubbard

I don't have a Seiko Spring Drive yet, but I hope to get my hands on one fairly soon. The biggest reason for my procrastination is that, as usual, Seiko is saving all their most interesting Spring Drive models for Japan (like the Marinemaster GMT Spring Drive). I took a look at the Seiko US Spring Drive site the other day, however, and discovered a few new models since the last time I checked including the white dial SNR007 and the black dial SNR009. They look more or less like their predecessors, the SNR001 and SNR005, with the exception of a 24-hour hand.

Features of the Seiko GMT Spring Drive SNR007 and SNR009 include:

• Spring Drive technology.
• GMT, or 24-hour hand, to keep time in a second time zone.
• 72-hour power reserve.
• Stainless steel case and bracelet.
• Sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective coating).
• See-through sapphire caseback.
• Water-resistant to 10 bar (100 meters, or about 330 feet).

The US Spring Drive collection is getting more interesting, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet. If Seiko introduces a Spring Drive diver in the US, though, I'll be the first in line. Maybe we'll see some interesting announcements at Baselworld 2007.