Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!columbia!close.cs.columbia.edu!ji From: ji@close.cs.columbia.edu (John Ioannidis) Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds Subject: HP-48SX: first impressions Message-ID: <6750@columbia.edu> Date: 8 Mar 90 00:28:41 GMT Sender: news@columbia.edu Reply-To: ji@close.cs.columbia.edu (John Ioannidis) Organization: Columbia University Department of Computer Science Lines: 71 I ordered mine from EduCalc on monday 3/5, told them to ship it second day FedEx ($6.50), and the thing arrived today. It's ROM revision A (and according to a flyer that accompanied it, they already have revisions B, C and D out!). So, here are my first impressions: * It's the size of an HP-41 with card reader (in fact, I am using my old 41 carrying case to carry it around; the original carrying case is too tight, and I can fit the quick-reference booklet in the 41 case (remember when HP calculators came with quick-reference cards? Well, now they come with 80-page booklets!). * I really like the fact that HP opted for the "vertical" format that you can hold in one hand and use with the other (or with your thumb if it's long enough!). That's one of the reasons I wasn't very tempted to get a 28c/s. I really didn't like the fold-out keyboard. * The serial port was a good idea. HP finally realized that noone was going to buy a cassette or card storage device will all the cheap storage one gets from one's pc/workstation/mainframe/whatever. Now, if they only had the pinout in the manual... * It has roughly a gazillion and a half predefined functions. I'm sure I'll never use most of them, but it's good to have them around! * It's nice if you're into HP calculators (I've had an HP calculator since the days of the HP67; I couldn't possibly resist this one). Now, the things I didn't like: * The keys don't have the nice, positive tactile feedback the 41C and the 65 had, but they are better than the series 10 ones. I haven't really played with 28s a lot and I can't really compare them. * The display contrast is poor. One should be allowed to change both the intensity and the contrast, not some combined function thereof. It's not very visible in subdued lighting, but I guess I'll get used to it. * It feels too flimsy. I can flex the case by about four degrees without fear of cracking it. There is no way I would throw it accross the room (the way people threw around 25's) and not care if it hits a brick wall at 60mph! * The manuals don't have that classy look they had back in the days of the hp-65 and hp-67. They are just black-and-white manuals with the occasional blue line. Gone are the days of six-color manuals. They are also spiral-bound rather than the traditional HP binding. And a couple of minor gripes: * There is virtually no documentation on the serial port hardware. I'd hate to have to shell out an extra $60 for a cable that I can make myself. * to use it in Hex mode (which is what I'll be using it for most of the time), you need two keystrokes to enter hex digits ( and the top row keys) and three to enter the base specifier (a lowercase h, d, o or b if you are inputting at a base different than the default). I hope one can redefine keys to be alpha-input keys, or write assembly-language programs that do that. Any takers? Overall, it's a cute little toy. Now, let's see those applications coming. /ji In-Real-Life: John "Heldenprogrammer" Ioannidis E-Mail-To: ji@cs.columbia.edu V-Mail-To: +1 212 854 5510 P-Mail-To: 450 Computer Science \n Columbia University \n New York, NY 10027