HP graphing calculator
Posted by in Graphing CalculatorHP 50g Graphing Calculator (F2229AA#ABA)
I just received mine in the mail today. I do not think that it is officially even released in the US; at least, it is not on HP’s English language website yet.
This is the first HP calculator I have ever owned and my impressions so far have generally been very positive. It seems just like the 49g+, but with a fully plastic case and keyboard, a serial port, and a four cell battery compartment.
Compared to the TI-89, the HP-50 seems more powerful. The CAS seems a little stronger, it has a lot more built-in mathematical, scientific, and engineering applications, and the hardware is far superior. The calculator runs on a ARM processor similar to the speeds on low-end pocket PCs, unlike the TI-89′s slow custom processor, but the CAS runs on an emulated processor, so it is not as fast as it could be. The HP also has an infrared port and a SD expansion card, so it has no realistic memory limits.
Its liabilities are that the screen seems a little smaller than the TI-89′s, the calculator is not nearly as user-friendly as the TI-89′s, the calculator only comes with a basic manual of about 100-200 pages while the full 900 page manual is only available on CD, and there does not seem to be as much third party support as for the TI-89.
But if you want the most powerful portable mathematical system available in a handheld calculator, this is definitely a must-buy.
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This is a very nice high-quality scientific calculator from HP. The overall design and capabilities are similar to the HP 32SII (equation solver, unit conversions, etc.), but with several enhancements.
Like many recent HP models, this calculator can work in either RPN or algebraic mode, but I use only RPN. The keyboard layout has been well thought out, with most functions being quickly available directly from the keyboard and a few lesser-used functions available through menus. The keyboard has a traditional HP layout and colors, and the keys have a nice positive feel. A very thorough and well-written printed manual is included.
A new feature with this model is that each level in the four-level stack may hold a real number, complex number, or 2- or 3-element vector. Complex numbers may be entered very simply using the “i” key (or “theta” key for polar form); vectors are entered using square brackets. This design makes it very easy to manipulate complex numbers and vectors.
The calculator includes 30 kB of memory, which is enough for over 20,000 program steps. There are 26 main memory registers (A-Z), six statistical registers, and 800 more memory registers available through indirect addressing. Another new feature of this model is TWO indirect registers, (I) and (J).
A few cons: With previous HP calculators, there was a shortcut for entering exact powers of 10: for example, 10,000 could be entered as “E 4″. For some reason HP has dropped that feature on the 35S, so you now have to enter “1 E 4″. Not a major drawback, but kind of annoying since I used that shortcut a lot on previous models. Another nit is that the function to convert HMS to decimal hours is labeled HMS-> instead of ->H, which I haven’t gotten used to yet.
Overall, the HP 35S is a very well-designed calculator, and I would not hesitate to recommend it as the best general-purpose scientific calculator available today. In fact, I bought three (for home, work, and school).
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HP calculators are built to be used by professionals. They are built to a standard of quality you seldom see anymore. Unlike calculators from other manufacturers, people who use HP calculators tend to use them for a VERY long time! I have had my HP48g for 8 years now and it still measures up to the competition. YES RPN entry is different BUT it is FAR MORE efficient to use in lengthy or repetitve computations. Unlike Casio,Sharp, and TI, there is a tremendous amount of professional grade software for scientist and engineers widely available. There are games too. The HP48g is solid and it has an IR port as well as a serial port for connection to a computer or other device. This calculator is a powerhouse! If you are a science or engineering major and you want to be serious about your trade then this has to be a device you own!
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For a serious electronic engineering student in his senior year in college, calculations extensively revolve around converting units including bases as well as vectors. Compared to it’s competitions from TI, it is such a no nonsense super-powerful engineering calculator that even the TI-92 doesn’t come close to what this 48-GX can do. Entering numbers in RPN format may be quite tricky at first, but after about 4-hrs later, I came to prefer this format over the algebraic one. RPN totally eliminates the need of parenthesis. Algebriac fans can do algebriac entry and/or display too. It has a massive expendable equation library, so there is no need to carry around a ton of formula sheets. I also own a TI-85 and a CASIO FX-115W. Other than not being able to graph, the little $20 CASIO is much stronger and capable than the TI. It can do integration, derivatives, and can easily convert bases (HEX, BIN, DEC) and vectors (POL, REC). Up until I bought the 48-GX, I only used the CASIO. Now I don’t have to use the CASIO anymore. I did some comparisons with my friends and found out that this HP calculator has all the ability of a TI-89 and a CASIO FX-2 as well as the usability of a CASIO-FX-115W, in addition to many more features, including easy expendable memory using cards which can be used like floppy disks to store infinite data, alarm clock, dnld and play music, x-fers to other 48-G/G+/GX by means of infrared light, symbolic calculations that can be converted into a numeric answer in one step, add/sub/mul/div polar and rectangular formats together in the same step, and don’t forget the UNDO button when something goes oops. This is only to mention a few. It comes with an intro manual, and a very good comprehensive manual. If you are an engineer or a serious engineering student, one day alone with the 48-GX is all you need to famaliarize yourself with it, and chances are you’ll never go back to a weak and overpriced TI again. If you don’t need 3D analysis, HP-39G or CASIO FX-2.0 is recommendable, which are equal to TI-86. If you don’t need graphing, CASIO FX-115W is a good choice.
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This calculator is a cousin of the 10B finacial calculator (now discontinued). It’s a good calculator with good button feel and a lot of preprogrammed functions including stats. However, the newer models have the keys and faceplate markings written in new colors that are hard to see. The picture on this page is of the old version of the calculator. The colors on the new ones make the calculator much harder to use in my opinion. They seem to get lost on the brown background.
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This calculator is the best buy out of all the graphing calculators out there. It’s simple to use, has 128k, an infa red port (you can controll TV’s and stuff), it can play 2 sounds at once (no TI can do this), and it has a bunch of software and games that can be loaded on… I’d recomend this to anyone looking for a good graphing calculator for a good price.
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