HP Launches New Calculators

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.

75MHz ARM CPU

[Sir Haxalot]

WOW! That's faster than my first 486 computer, impressive!

What they don't say

[JamesP]

Is that 49g+ will be running a Saturn Emulator (not Sega Saturn, but the old 4 bit processor form the old ones)

HP your calculators were great, but stop crippling your products... Write another system. Yes, it's expensive, but TI does it right...

Re:Who is it aimed at?

[daksis]

I too have fond memories of being jealous over the guy who had every physics formula ever programmed into his TI or HP super computer. But I'm a little curious, with hand held computers with 400mhz processors becoming the norm, will we soon see the death of the "Super Calculator"?

Clac vs PDA

[magarity]

Just to play devil's advocate: Since PDAs can be had with 75Mhz ARM CPUs and much more memory, what makes this dedicated device better? Given the magins in hardware manufacturing, wouldn't HP be better off writing PDA software to do all of these functions?

Great devices, for the computer as well

[Zergwyn]

I am very excited by this news. I swear by my 48gx, which has the most useful calculatlor I have ever used. RPN input is very fast, the stack is very useful, and it was really ahead of its time with features. However, it can be a bit pokey at times, making certain features less useful. However, it is also very good on the computer. In mid-2000, HP actually made the laudable move of releasing the HP48 ROM images to the public, so various emulators that work exactly like the real thing can be found for various platforms. For OS X, I would suggest using x48, which is even featured [apple.com] on Apple's website! You can find the original page here [archive.org]. Worth checking out. Also, HP48gx enthusiasts should check out metakernal, which, while it requires you to have an add-on memory card, can make the 48gx a lot more usable. It rewrites a lot of the core functions in assembly, making them far faster, as well as adding new features. It is also free now (minus the cost of the required card, obviously).

HP Calulators, all others are just ordinary

[Nonillion]

I have used HP calculators for years. I have a 42S and a 48GX, both are still giving me years of faithful and trouble free service. What impressed me was the ability to use complex numbers, like negative sqroots and to calculate !n 256 (can't remember if it was 253 or 256). And lets not forget RPN, the oly way to do math :)

I have even surfed the net with my 48GX via a telnet connection to my linux box. Anything else is just ordinary...

Keep thoes calculators comming HP.

What I want...

[Experiment 626]

I first got a HP48SX in 1989 (or maybe 90) and it was very amazing technology. Since then they've done the GX and the 49, which are nice improvements but basically just small incremental upgrades, which is disappointing considering all the new technology that has come out during that time period. Calculators basically hit their peak and then stagnated for over a dozen years and couting.

Here's what I think the ubercalculator of 2003 should be. The technology exists to make it, sure it wouldn't be cheap, but what nerd wouldn't want one...

I'd design such a beast as basically a PDA, but specialized in serious math rather than tracking appointments. Give it a fold-open design with a scientific calculator keypad on one part and a full-color TFT QVGA screen. A nice 400-mhz or so processor to manipulate even symbolic equations quickly. An operating environment that resembles neither a daytimer or a more primitive calculator, but best described as Pocket Mathematica. USB, IRDA, and Bluetooth connectivity, a nice recharging cradle, and have it come preloaded with a a vast collection of equations, reference charts, and such from a variety of disciplines... mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, statistics, etc.

No, no professor in their right mind would let you use such a monstrosity on a test, but I imagine there are other geeks out there who would want it. Or maybe I've just dreamed up a calculator so excessive you'd be better off using a small laptop. /shrug

Re:And the thought on everyone's mind is....

[terminal.dk]

I am also waiting for a cheaper feature rich RPN calculator.

Loves my HP11C, and thinks the HP48sx is great too. Need something good in HP11C / HP15C / HP16C quality and not too large. But RPN is necesary. Bought the very cheap HP-9S, and it is a big disappointment.

The Surveyors Market could be driving this

[C. Alan]

It is a little known fact that the 48gx makes an excellent platform for Data Collecting, and doing field calcs for land surveying. When you are out in the field, the 48gx can be easily placed in a water proof case, and used to send, recieve, and store data from a surveyor's total Station. The battery life is suppior to PDAs, and weather resistant PDAs are pretty pricy.

One a side note, It is pretty hard to crash a 48gx. I shutter to think about using a windows CE PDA, only to loose 8 hours of work to a tiny blue screen of death.

There are a couple of good software packages out that support the 48gx, and most cost way more than the calculator.

--C. Alan