A mixed bag, but still an HP

A few weeks ago my trusty HP48SX, which has served faithfully for 16 years, vanished. And so it was that I was in need of a new calculator with at least the same power as the old one. And so I purchased a brand new HP50G through Amazon.com

Okay. First of all, I'm not going to go into details on how to use RPN - if you are interested in an HP calc, you likely already know how to use it. So what I'm going to concentrate on is how an experience user (moi) used it and reacted to it.

There are many changes since the HP48 days. Some are interesting and useful. Some... aren't.

I just opened the box:
Joy of joys! You have a new HP calculator, something that usually happens less frequently than buying a home. So you naturally want to take it out and start using it right away, right? BZZT! Wrong. The calculator DOES NOT SHIP IN RPN MODE BY DEFAULT! This, I think is a very stupid idea. Nobody who buys 150$ calculators from HP expects it to be in Algebraic mode when it arrives. You'll find a MODE button, and under that, is a menu for DISP. In mode, you can set the calculator to RPN. And in DISP, you can change your decimals of precision and bounce between SCI, ENG and FIX notations.

Next you will find another surprise - the ENTER key isn't there! Actually, it has just moved. At the lower right corner where an = button would be on other lesser calcs, you'll find the ENTER key. It is no bigger than the others. This is a terrible change since every HP calculator going back 32 years had the enter in the same place and at the same size. If you automatically hit ENTER, you'll have to get used to pressing a smaller key in a different place.

The calculator also wakes up in Symbolic mode. This means that pressing the Pi key shows the pi symbol instead of 3.14159. There is a setting to change that to Numeric, but if you want to do everything by symbols and then crunch a number at the very last step, you can. Just press the EVAL key when you want a final number.

I'm hungry - where's the menu?:
The soft menus you are used to have been done away with. Since you could only see 6 letters in each, they have been replaced with screen-filling menus that are large and easy to read. When the new menus pop up, you scroll up and down to pick the function you want with the arrow keys. While this navigation system IS easy and simpler to read, you'll find that it slows you down in the midst of a calculation. There is a flag you can set to bring back the old softkey menuing if you do not like the new menus.

Unix?:
No, Units. All the units conversions and functions are still here. And there are a number more that weren't on the HP48 as well. Also, there are a large number of physical Constants inside the calculator and available for your calculations. Electrical types will recognize uE from electromag - it's free with every purchase, as are dozens more. Finding them can be a bit tricky, so read your manual to see which button to press.

What manual?:
Oh, that. Well, it does come with a user guide in book form. (No point in lamenting the ring binders - that is history.) But it's geared mainly to getting a beginner started with the calculator rather than guiding experienced users in getting things done. A more detailed manual is available on the CDrom and also on the HP website. Personally I would have much rather they saved the expense of including a USB cable and shipped a big book instead.

USB? On a calculator?:
Well, yes. I cannot give you all the details about that myself. But I can tell you that some of the useful features that provides is the ability to print on your computer printer (handy!) and transfer calculator programs from the internet and user groups. Oh, and if you miss the old serial cable or IR link, they are still on the new model as well.

But does it function like an HP?
Once you get it out of the braindead Algebraic mode, it does. It's quite nice. It uses a pretty fast (well, for a calculator) processor. It also uses 4AAA batteries. And no, I don't recommend rechargables - go pick up a used HP32E on Ebay if you want to relive that horrible era. But I do recommend Energizer E2 batteries because it is my experience that they last a very long time in cameras and calculators. You'll want good batteries too, because when running full tilt, the puppy wants juice. More memory and more speed means more power consumption. It's not bad but it's not somethign you can ignore, either.

The calculator is written to function in something called CAS, and the RPN _and_ algebraic interfaces are laid on top of that. You can enter your equations directly in CAS, in textbook mode, or in RPN. It's surprising to find that something has replaced RPN finally, but it is somewhat alien to me (as an old RPN hand) so your own opinions of it will have to suffice. Entering matrices is still as easy as ever with the Matrixwriter key, and the MATH library has all the usual Matrix functions under one roof.

Another interesting thing is the stack. There are 8 positions displayed. Large things like equations are concatonated unless they are in level 1 (X for us older hands.) But the SWAP key is no longer on the keyboard. It is in a soft menu. Again, I don't know what the people in HP were smoking, but they clearly didn't ask users what keys they used the most. And the two shift keys look like they were stolen off a dead Casio. For that matter, so do the four navigation buttons.

You don't like Casio?:
I have no issues with Casios except that if I had wanted one, I'd have bought one. HP has decided that the two reasons they aren't selling lots of calculators is because they don't look like Casios and they don't work like Casios. So they made this two-headed beast to try and appeal to everyone. It might work out. Engineers can make the calculator work like the powerhouses of old if they but take a moment to set it up properly (took me two hours.) And the kids in High School will be able to pick it up and use it with no trouble. It even LOOKS something like a Casio, although the sculpted case makes it easier to hold than any Casio ever dreamed possible.

Sum it all up, please:
If you are a kid just looking for a cheap calculator, at 150$, the HP50G isn't for you. If you are a serious college student or professional, then the tool can handle anything you can throw at it no matter what mode you prefer to use it in. And if you are already familiar with RPN, don't curse too much as you configure the calculator back to the way it is supposed to be - it bothers your cubemates.

It isn't your father's HP. And that's a shame. It is _still_ an HP, but you have to get through lots of sheep's clothing to reach the wolf within.