October 12th, 2010 
admin HP 50g Graphing Calculator (F2229AA#ABA) Review
I got this calculator as a replacement because some moron stole my 48gII, so I’m pretty familiar with the functions. My 48gII was older and had the crappy documentation that so many people have complained about, so I had to do a lot of research online in order to teach myself how to use it. I was expecting more of the same when I got my 50g, but I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that it came with a tutorial booklet that walks you through many of the settings and features on the calculator. As a result, I learned how to change settings that I didn’t know existed, and have gained even more functionality from my calculator. In addition, there are downloadable manuals with tons more information. I’d have to say now that this is a bit of overkill (They add up to about 1400 pages!).
Other than that, the construction is solid. A friend of mine (who’s used to TI’s) said that the buttons are hard to press, but I don’t feel that way. This is possibly because I’m used to using HP calculators. I am an engineering student, and most of my peers use the TI 89. I’ve never had one of these, only an 84. Of course there’s no comparison between the two. My peers are all impressed and sometimes intimidated by my calculator.
I have to say, don’t be intimidated by the learning curve on these calculators, because once you learn, there’s no limit to what you can do with these things.
A favorite feature of mine would have to be the equation library. A lot of equations that we use in engineering, such as the kinematics, are built-in to this calculator, along with a handy financial feature that calculates interest (which comes in handy in engineering economy, among other things). This calculator does so many cool things, I’d probably be here all day trying to list them.
I’m still learning how to work in RPN. I can see where it saves time and keystrokes, though. It’s also a great deterrent from having people ask to borrow my calc (which I’m really squeamish about, given the circumstances).
In closing, I definitely recommend this calculator. If you like to stand out from the crowd (circumstances may be different at other schools/environments), and have a ton of functionality, this is definitely the calc you should buy.
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