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From: xxw8409@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Fractalman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: HP42s better than HP48sx?
Message-ID: <1991May21.095844.29101@isc.rit.edu>
Date: 21 May 91 10:40:48 GMT
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I've had the 48sx for the past year and last week I bought a 42s. After
playing the 42s for a week I noticed a few things...

The 42s is faster than the 48sx in running the bulit-in applications:
 solver, integrate, matrix, etc. Probably as a result of the 48sx having
 more commands but the results are the same. 48sx uses algebraics for
 the equations but the 42s separates programs from variables so it's
 easier to see which is a program and which is a varible.
The 42s has no equation writer but who needs it? It's so slow. It doesn't
 have dedicated softkeys but the soft-labels don't stay on the screen
 all the time.
The 48sx is no more accurate than the 42s. Try 1/3*3 and the answer is
 0.999999999999 on both.
There's no way to see if a softkey label has a submenu or not on the 42s,
 but since there are less menus it doesn't matter that much. 
The 42s is 1/3 the price of the 48sx and much smaller and easier to carry
 around. Of couse it can't be expanded but I suppose I won't need the
 expansion. (I don't need to play Tetris on the 42s).
My 48sx takes so long to get ready when I turn it on. The 42s is ready
 the instant it gets turned on...
The 42s has a drawback that it dosen't have a built-in graphing utility
 and the screen is too small to do it effectively. Obviously it has less
 functions than the 48sx but I don't really need all the functions the
 48sx offers...

Well the 48sx is unbeatable in power but is it too powerful? I use it
everyday in the past year but now I use the 42s everyday and use the
48sx only occasionally.

_Fractalman_
xxw8409@ritvax.isc.rit.edu