Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!me!davin
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
From: davin@me.utoronto.ca (Davin Yap)
Subject: Re: Mailordering the HP48sx / and my first impressions
Message-ID: <1990Mar21.010430.12514@me.toronto.edu>
References: <1990Mar9.175617.21192@hellgate.utah.edu> 
Distribution: na
Date: 21 Mar 90 06:04:30 GMT

jon@ireland.uucp (Jon Doran) writes:
>I had hoped that things would have changed.  In my opinion Elek-Tek survives
>because there are enough people who want to save $25 and don't mind waiting
>for their calculators.  If that describes you, by all means deal with them,
>you'll get your 48sx eventually.

Well, I must admit I had a similar experience when I ordered my 28S, it
took two (or was it three) months to get to me, but they admitted then
(2 years ago) that the thing was back-ordered and sent me
'back-ordered' forms religiously every month.  However, this time I had
much better luck.  Due to advance information from this group (thanks
guys), I found out about the existence of the beast three days before
the announcement; after reading the first article about it I hurriedly
called Elek-Tek and placed an order, I wasn't surprised that it was
back-ordered even then and that they weren't expecting their first
shipment for a week or two.  I wanted to get on the queque as quick as
possible, not having anything more than a notion as to what it was,
just that it was HP's latest/greatest calculator.  Last Wednesday I got
the expected 'back-ordered' form (and news that I my scholarship to do
a Ph.D. at Cambridge came through :-) but I was surprised by a phone
call Thursday morning from UPS stating that they wanted money from me
to pay for the customs for a package from 'El-Tech' :-).  I got it on
Friday.

I've been playing with it since.  My initial impressions are that this one
is an order of magnitude more useful than the 28S.  It seemed that with
the 28, I'd always have to fight with it to get it to do what I wanted,
with the 48, it's like HP read my mind (take a well earned bow)!  Placing
common math functions back on the keypad really helps, calculating sin(30),
something one expects to be straightforward on a calculator, wasn't on 
the 28, this gave me the impression that the 28 was more a computer than
what I (dare I say, "we in the physical sciences") envisage as a
calculator.  This isn't to say that the 28 wasn't (oops, isn't) a good
machine, as the seminal hand-held object manipulator, HP did a fine
job, so good that there is no competition.  However, this image of the 28
as a computer, one with no 'I' from 'I/O', made me loath to invest much
time in it.  Consequently, I didn't, it sat idle, and I waited patiently
(2 yrs!) for the next HP with I/O.  
    At first, I thought that abandoning the bill-fold format was a mistake
but I've found that being able to usably hold it with one hand makes up
for the lack of the alphabet, especially since the common math functions
are there.
    I'm only halfway through the first book, so I'll likely add more of
my impressions later; since it's been established that HP listens to this
group, babbling about the beast here seems worthwhile.  As yet, I have to
agree with most of the good things that have been posted about the 48,
but I'd like to point out some subtle details that peave me:

1) A mole is not a unit of mass (unless you multiply it by some molecular
   weight, in which case it isn't a mole anymore) and should not be under
   the mass submenu of the units catalog.

2) Throughout the chapter on unit management in the manual, temperature
   (K) is refered to as "kelvins".  This is incorrect, the proper term
   is, "Kelvin", singular and capitalized (named after Lord Kelvin).
   This small point detracts from HP's professionalism in the eyes of
   those in the physical sciences - or nit-pickers like me :)

Well, I'll add more later.  Great box, I wish they would have had some
physical science types to preview it as well as the syseval junkies
(meant in a kind way :-), hopefully I won't find anything truly irksome
about it.

Regards, Davin
_______________________________________________________________________________
Leave nothing to         |   Davin Yap, Mechanical Engineering, U of Toronto
    the imagination of   |davin@me.utoronto.ca        davin@me.utoronto.bitnet
           those without.|         ...{pyramid,uunet}!utai!utme!davin
--