HP Launches New Calculators 384
lar1 writes "It looks like HP is back in the calculator buisness! In a press release dated 2003 October 20, HP states: 'Within the next several weeks, HP will be launching three additional new calculators: two graphing and one scientific. The two yet-to-be-launched graphing calculators, together with the hp 49g+ and the entry-level hp 9g, will provide a complete range of graphing calculators expected to fulfill the needs and budgets of a broad spectrum of calculator users.' The 49g+ boasts features such as: USB and IrDA connectivity, a 75MHz ARM CPU, 2MB of flash, and an SD card slot. That's a lot of calculator!" We mentioned this calculator-on-growth-hormones earlier.
Who is it aimed at? (Score:2, Insightful)
Calculators with way too much muscle are cool, and they do tap right into that geeky part of me that drools over lovely gadgets, but on the other hand, seriously, if it can do calculations in hex, that's all I need, and I'd be almost scared to use that one.
I mean, if you break it, it's cost you how much? The last super-beefy calc I owned set me back about UKP 75 and that was a long time ago. Plus, that was a long way away from what we're seeing here. Who are they aiming this at? I personally could never justify the expense of one like this, no matter how useful it may be.
Oh and BTW - First Post
-- Soluzar
News Article or Advertisement? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Broken. (Score:1, Insightful)
No, it's not. Karma whore.
HP doesn't get it yet. Word is Convergence. (Score:2, Insightful)
with rebates.
Now, I know they can't handle all the functions of the top of the line graphing calculator but they might if you have an emulator or other software.
The graphing calculator is dying out and being replaced by SUPERIOR technology. HP is not embracing the future by not coming out with a hybrid
pda/graphing calculator.
Re:Who is it aimed at? (Score:3, Insightful)
but the designation calculator will allow these things to be used on tests where a 'pocket PC' or such will probably be prohibited, even if they do the exact same things, there is paranoia about that sort of thing.
I also remember when the TI9something came out with the QWERTY keyboard on it, my school also prohibited it's use, as it no longer resembled a calculator but in fact a computer.
Re:my question (Score:3, Insightful)
Add another item to the convergence pool (Score:4, Insightful)
- PDA
- Cell Phone
- Digital Camera
- Video player
- portable mass storage
- MP3 Player
- advanced graphing calculator
You can bet something like this will not be allowed during test taking, that's for sure.
Re:Clac vs PDA (Score:5, Insightful)
HP's 15C, 42S, and 48G are great. The neat thing about this new one is that you could probably power a sophisticated robot. You could even do the inverse kinematics on the fly.
Re:Clac vs PDA (Score:5, Insightful)
That being said, it is not a part and parcel replacement for my calculator. For intense operations the keypad on the real calculator is worlds better than clicking on the screen. The other thing is that the screen size of my calculator is just a little bit smaller than the screen of my palm, and on the palm screen you have to fit both the keypad and the calculator display.
Re:And the thought on everyone's mind is.... (Score:2, Insightful)
3(enter)
2
+ (no equals sign)
or for (9+7)*3, type:
9(enter)
7
+
3
*
Takes a little getting use to, but after using it for a while, it becomes natural. I can barely figure out how to use a "regular" calculator now.
BTW, I'm the proud owner of an HP 32SII that hasn't needed a new battery in about 15 years.
Re:Clac vs PDA (Score:5, Insightful)
wouldn't HP be better off writing PDA software to do all of these functions?
One problem with convergence of the general-purpose PDA and the calculator is that colleges ban the former from final exams because they can be used to store volumes of notes, even entire textbooks. There really is a market for college students, especially in engineering and sciences, for a good calculator without too much memory and fancy graphics, simply to help perform accurate calculations and nothing more.
Re:This is getting ridiculous... (Score:4, Insightful)
There is no denying that the CAS of these calculators is very powerful, and often can't be challenged for solving equations or calculating triple integrals. But at best, these kinds of tools can help you working faster and more efficiently, but not do the work for you.
In physics, the calculator (or Maple, Mathematica, Matlab..) can solve your equations saving your time - and some of your nights - but cannot put into equations your problem which is the real deal.
In mathematics, the calculator might be capable of determining the kernels and images of linear applications as an example, but comes short for solving anything that requires to find a proper demonstration. So it won't get you very far.
At last, it could be argued that because of the huge amount of memory modern calculators feature, student are becoming lazy and shove all the formulas into their calcs instead of learning them. Yes, it might be a shame. However, it is sometimes said that the important is not to know all the information by heart, but to know where you will be able to find it.
Re:HP doesn't get it yet. Word is Convergence. (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sorry, PDA's are a nice technology, but they in no way are superior to a good calculator. With my calculator, everything I need is either right there, or at most 2-3 menu levels down. Whereas with a PDA, I'd be lucky if I could do anything much more complex than basic math without wasting time digging through menus, no matter how well organized.
That said, HP DOES have a hybrid - the iPaq line. But they're also smart enough to realize that those who need to solve problems that are of more than marginal complexity will appreciate a tool made to do just that in the most efficient manner possible.
How Robust are they and what about the buttons? (Score:4, Insightful)
Along with the Hex and Binary functions, the cases of the calculators are rock solid (they've been dropped probably a total of 100 times) and the buttons have a nice solid "click" to them to give you feedback saying that the button was pressed. The button legends are molded into the plastic, so you will never wear them off.
The ARM processor, flash memory are nice, but the only thing that would make me consider giving up my everyday TI-83 (and the '16Cs) would be if the case was as rugged as the original HPs, and the buttons where of the same high quality.
myke
Re:Clac vs PDA (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Add another item to the convergence pool (Score:4, Insightful)