HP 50g Graphing Calculator (F2229AA#ABA) Review

I have owned top of the line graphing and scientific calculators from TI, HP, Casio, Sharp, etc. Back when I was a student, TI's were very cheaply made and often broke quite easily and similar HP products lasted almost forever. This machine, the HP50g, continues that HP tradition and is definitely put together very well. It is also a very good improvement over its predecessor, the HP49g+ with more memory and with a much improved keyboard and improved keyboard "feel" and a much better feature set overall, including the full library of solutions from Physics and Engineering that was available from the HP48 series of machines, etc. The pros and cons as I see it are:

PROS:

1) The Hp50g has all the standard and CAS (Computer Algebra System) features that we have come to expect on such a machine, plus many nice very detailed and very mathematically advanced topic as well as course specific APPS that are already preloaded or can be added in electronically and quite simply from the HP or HPcalc or other websites. These include the ability to even perform a digital FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) as well as many many other advanced functions of a similar nature. The USB interface works with a computer and is also quite fast and easy to set up.

2) It works quite naturally with complex number solutions of equations. It can be switched in the Mode setup from a Real to a Complex number operating stance and even back again as desired or it will even prompt you to make a mode change if you are in Real mode and the answer is in fact a Complex number. If it can't perform an operation which is fairly rare it will simply repeat the proposed operation back again below the original one on the display screen as the answer. This machine is so versatile however that it will even evaluate symbolic matrices or even matrices with imaginary numbers (an Electrical engineering nightmare otherwise!).

3) This machine itself is quite fast with a nice graphical interface and resultant plotting system. The resultant plots are high quality and with the many added features available for enhancement are very intuitive for the learning process.

4) It has a nice and quite modern, curved body design that sits very nicely both on a desk or a table as well as in your hand.

5) It has a very large amount of onboard main memory, plus additional Flash memory for tackling quite memory intensive problems.

6) Although it is called a calculator, it is really a small and very fast (75 MHz) handheld computer system which can tackle problems from the most simple to almost the most complex.

7) The famous RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) and an Algebraic Operating System (AOS) as well as a so-called textbook mode are all available to be chosen depending on the wishes of the user and on the problem to be tackled.

8) The complete set of the predicted units of the solution of a complicated equation (or set of equations) can be determined independently of and simultaneously with its numerical answer(s). This is a very fine feature that I do not know of on any other calculator system.

9) As on all such HP RPN models, a very fine self-test system is available to make sure your machine is fully functional all the time and a clock (now without seconds) complete with the date, is also continuously available.

10) Finally, this machine also has a fine, onboard Help system for some, but not all of the CAS commands, if these commands are at all confusing (and there are many many commands available on this machine). It is a good HP system with multiple references (up to 3) between different , but similar commands (for example with the soft-key designations: SEE1, SEE2, SEE3, etc.), but the Help system on the newer Casio FX-9860 Slim calculator is even better in my opinion, i.e., it includes ALL the commands in the calculator (but with no CAS present on the Casio unit) with complete operational syntax details for every command. The latter Help system is even advertised as being sufficiently detailed so that the manual doesn't need to be carried around to efficiently work with this Slim Casio.

CONS:

1) Some functions that you would readily expect to be available with a single key press require instead at least two key presses, but usually with only a single shift key press first.

2) The learning curve is quite steep, although very well worth the considerable effort, but this will heavily deter some good students from learning the RPN skills that can be effectively used for your entire lifetime once they are successfully mastered.

3) The HP50g requires multiple batteries plus a backup coin cell battery in order to save everything briefly when changing the main batteries.

4) It really needs a large ENTER key (and also it should be located in the center-left location) just like on the HP machines of the distant past (and as recently included on the HP35s for example).

5) HP should also add a backlight system for viewing the screen in the dark as implemented very nicely in the new clam-shell design on the Casio FX-9860g Slim version.


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