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HP49G is a reality
gleam writes "HP announced, fairly quietly, a new calculator--the HP49G. It is essentially an upgrade to the 48G, with a higher contrast screen at the same resolution and the same processor but a much better OS. It will also have 512kb ram, 1mb flash system rom, and 1mb user ROM. Check out the full specs. "
I prefer to think of it as obsessiveness on the part of HP. Unlike the TI's, a lot of the functions (like plotting, solving, or looking up equation libraries) were accessed by GUI menus...and that probably was overkill. It looked moderately attractive, but it really slowed performance.
With respect to plotting, which was terribly slower in comparison to the TI's, the HP was set to a bizarrely detailed plot by default, i.e. the amount of points it would calculate before plotting was excessive. Sure the plots were more exact, but unless you changed the default, things went pretty slowly.
But despite the slowness, the little group of people at my high school who owned 48's noted that it seemed like it just took longer for TI owners to do things. The feature set simply was not there, neither was RPN, which has to be experienced, at length, to be appreciated.
I don't know what you mean by "math oriented stuff", but I'm a math major, and I can't remember the last time I used a calculator in a class. I keep a TI-36 around just in case but rarely use it.
If you're planning to go into a more applied field, like engineering, you'll get more use out of an expensive calculator than I have. But in this case, I would still recommend getting a cheap scientific calculator and perhaps investing in some sort of symbolic manipulation software (like Mathematica, Maple, Derive, Matlab, I don't know what else might be out there) when you head off to college. The student prices on these are fairly reasonable (only slightly more than a TI-92) and they may save you from having to trek up to the computer lab every weekend. Find out what your school/department uses before you make such a purchase of course.
I remember having this calculator in high school and using it for anything but math. I especially enjoyed borrowing one of the remote controls from my school (they were all the same brand panasonics i believe) and duplicating the commands to my calculator. Then right in the middle of my teacher's lecture the tv would miraculously power up... Aaah those were the days. Of course my teacher went insane >:) :)
I also made quite an impression when i showed everyone the image of claudia schiffer that someone had coded. Man that looked really good. It was even cooler when my friend showed off pong (or was it arkanoid? one of those...) on his TI and I proudly showed him Mortal Kombat on my HP. He was nothing short of speechless. I think his reply was, "that's not a calculator, it's a computer!"
I can't believe they yanked IR out of the 49G's, I thought that it was the best part of the HP48gx. Well that, and pretending to use the calculator for simple math while i was actually checking formulas or the periodic table for a hand during tests
Other than that the 49G looks really sweet. Looks like I'm gonna have to save up a bit and get me one of those puppies.
In case some of you are wondering where i got all these programs, do a search for "HP48" on any search engine. You'd be surprised how many hits show up. Although at the time I got most of mine at hpcvbbs.corvallis.hp.com (It was something of that sort, I don't remember though and that doesn't seem to be right).
Actually, it is quite a bit faster (I've heard from users). The new OS (based on metakernel, by one of the new designers before HP bought him) has all new choose and input methods.. so every menu is faster. It does 6 frames per second of 3d graphing, and allows real-time manipulation of 3d graphs. Wow.
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After the 49G comes out, the price on a 48GX should go down a bit. Splurge on a ramcard (I have a 4meg one. That's right: four megabytes of memory in my calculator. It cost me a couple hundred deutchmarks plus shipping to the us). It really makes all the difference. Symbolic algebra (ALG48) and calculus (ERABLE), not to mention the billion other useful programs you can drop into it. And if you're hoping to do physics or engineering, don't go with anything less than an HP. Once you go reverse polish, there's no turning back. Once you use an infinite level stack, there's no going back. For software, check out hpcalc.org. There are several chess clocks here. Don't even get me started on the number of games for this thing (zelda, dune, civilization...). And if nothing else, comp.sci.hp48 has much more eloquent discussion than you'll find in any of the ti groups.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
Well, the fact that this does complex math and PalmPilot/WinCE doesn't creates quite a large market. I know you could add some type of math software to a pocket computer but I would be quite difficult to input math commands quickly. I've become so used to using RPN on my 28S and 48GX that I don't even need to think about it anymore. And now I have something I can actually graph with too! Graphing was so horrid with the 48 with its slowass boxes and scrolling. How i never have to pick up a TI again.
Noehre
TI IS DEAD. LONG LIVE RPN
A week or two ago I lost my Ti-85. My dad gave it to me, it served me since the 7th grade.. I just now finished 11th grade. I will need to buy a new calculator and I am wondering if I should go with a TI or HP. I will be entering AP BC Cal next year and plan to do more math oriented stuff in college.
Also, how much am I looking at for a TI-89 or a HP calc? $100 is okay for me but higher than that is pushing it.
Programming is also a plus for me. Besides the normal math related programs, I have made others in which the TI-85 did not please me.. For example, a chess timer. This required a loop with a counter that eventually incremented seconds.. Thus the calc was looping all the time when a game was being played and wasting batteries. Is there any calculator which has programming features not solely related to math?
Any expierences from both TI and HP users are appricated.
Listen to me, TI. I want the buttons on my calculator to move on one axis only!
-jwb
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
I was having the same difficulty. My TI-86 was stolen at the middle of the semester, right before I entered Calc II (in high school, taken over the Iowa Communications Network--a big fiber-optic network that runs across Iowa connecting schools, etc.). Anyway, it was a college class, and I needed a good calculator. I looked over all the available models, information about them, and discussed it on newsgroups and chatrooms (probably much like what you are doing) I finally decided that since I wanted to get into electrical engineering, I'd buy a HP48GX.
It was WAY different than the TI series of calculators. (I think it has something to do with the RPN vs. Algebraic interface)
After I got used to it, I really liked it, and it had a bunch of useful functions that I could do very fast (well, considering the processor was only 4Mhz and couldn't really do stuff FAST), but I could manipulate numbers etc. very easily.
I never really got into the advanced stuff on the HP48GX, but it can do some cool stuff and I've seen some awesome games for it, and they're _grayscale_ so they look a helluva lot better than the TI games.
However, the HP does take a little while to get used to, and wasn't quite as friendly as the TI that I had been used to since 7th grade.
But the HP49 looks like it will take care of ALL of my complaints. It is going to be MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH faster, and will have an Algebraic mode--which will make it easier for some problems.
But really, I did not use my calculator much at all in the class. And I believe the AP BC calc is going to contain most of the same stuff that Calc II did. I did differentiation, integrals, vectors, more vectors, different types of coordinates, three dimintional vectors and matrices... those are what I remember right off-hand.
What I used the calculator for most of the time was just to check my basic math such as multiplication and division, and occasionally square roots and exponents. I did use it for symbolic differentiation and integration and for creating 3d plots (3d plotting was SLOW--30 sec to 1 min for a single frame, but the HP49 will do 6 fps! and allow rotation in realtime).
So really, your calculator will probably not make a HUGE difference in your class.
If you are very comfortable with TIs and are happy with the features (and limitations) then just stick with it and get an 89 or 92.
If you want more capabilities with programming, I/O, and just messing around in general, but are willing to sacrifice speed, get the 48GX.
You may want to get the 49 though. Personally, I will get one before I go to my first college math class next year. It looks like the interface will be cleaned up, and make it easier to use for people not used to it--which would make it easier for you to transition from TI to HP. And the realtime 3d drawings will be great for advanced Calc. I think this HP49 looks (based on what I have heard and seen about it, never used one in person) spectacular, sounds as easy to use as a TI while being faster than a TI, yet keeping the power that HPs are known for.
HP49 would be your best bet, then either a HP48GX or TI-89 (based on what you want to use it for).
~unyun~
I forgot to include these in the submitted story.. but here are 15 (low quality) images of some alpha units in action.
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What is this with no traditional IR port? To prevent cheating? This is an advanced calculator. There's enough onboard mathmatical power to simulate someone with intelligence on an exam, so I am not sure how much more of an advantage a direct link to your test taking neighbor would do. There is nothing wrong with a high powered IR port, but the paranoia.
I still have my 28S and have found the wireless IR port quite nice to print. No need for a cable to tangle on the desk.
Reverse Polish Notation is simply a different method of entering the information into the calculator. Instead of typing 3 + 5 = you type 3 Enter 5 +. It doesn't, at first glance, looks like it makes that much of a difference, but it can really speed up entering problems, especially more complex ones. Anyone doing advanced math on a regular basis should at least consider RPN. If you're at college, find one of the EE guys who knows it and ask for a demo.
Arithon
"Never ask a geek why, just nod your head and slowly back away."
-Rob Malda
The 49g solves 1st order differential equations, as well as linear second order ones. If I remember correctly, there was a step by step mode for those as well.
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Sam.
God, root, what is difference ?
I don't know about schematics, (maybe they're at www.hpcalc.org) but here's the info about cheating via IR and the 48/49 OS issue.
Cheating with the IR is basically impossible, but most teachers don't know this. The receive function is crippled because of cheating and because of huge power drain when it is set to full power (at full power it can receive about 10 or 20 feet away). The send is not crippled, and can send about 15-20 feet, I believe.
Still, teachers don't know this...they think anyone can beam an answer to anyone else. Modifying the IR is a lengthy and difficult process, though.
Now, re: the 48/49 OS. They will not be replacable (i'm assuming this) simply because that generates no sales and, unlike the 49, the 48 is not flash upgradable. Still, I would buy a 49 to replace my 48 simply because of the added user ram (up to 1MB now, instead of the 128k of the GX) and cool case.
---note: i don't represent hp, i'm just a fan---
---therefore, don't take anything I say to be---
---gospel! Everything I know I learned from---
---developers and users of beta units. ---
-gleam
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