Pestering Amazon emails about HP 50
I like HP. Have for years. Went out of my way to replace my stolen HP 48G calculator with an HP product. I am saddened to discover it came algebraic by default and not RPN. Shame on HP. But it can be easily rectified. Also I am disappointed with the short battery life. I discovered they are not a typical shelf item and when Fry's did not have any, against my better judgment I thought I would experiment with an internet purchase instead of driving to Portland State's Bookstore in search of an HP Calculator. I was discouraged by their limited store hours.

I am now regretting my decision to use Amazon because of the constant emails they now litter my email box with; including this stupid survey that will likely fall on deff ears or some keyword searching bot.

Yes, I can use my spam filter to block the emails while they do the spoofing game to game all of us. However, I know that by sharing my experience with others who ask, it will give them pause when ponding buying through Amazon or supporting a local retailer who hires local folks.

Oh, why the middleman game? Can't Amazon do things direct with HP? Had I understood my purchase was coming from some unknown little office supply store company on the east coast via slow truck and not Seattle less than 200 miles away from Portland, I would have reconsidered my options.

I shake my head as to why some folks I know purchase items or as my mother does, give Amazon gift cards to her grandchildern (maybe she finds joy in teasing children) if they have the same pestering experience I am having. I will surely make it a Superbowl conversation with all that I can engage regarding my first Amazon experience.

Best HP calculator ever: finally HP gets it right
The latest top of the line HP calculator should always be the best calculator ever made, but that hasn't been the case for a while. I've owned HP calculators since the US-made 28C. The two predecessors to the 50G were seriously flawed, mainly due to bad keyboards. Meanwhile, HP was doing some great things that got lost under the keyboard misery.The HP50G is where everything comes together. This is a really fast calculator that emulates the old CPU, while progressively more and more functionality has been made native. The keyboard is very good. It's not quite as good as the great old keyboards, but it's almost as good. Considering how fast it is, how good the display is, how good the documentation is and the large body of programs available for download, this is an awesome product. I dropped it from a table to a hard concrete floor two days ago, and no damage.

Helped me pass my college math requirements.
I have both a TI and bought this as an alternative to the Highest TI calculator. This thing does everything, just punch in the equation and it works a problem for you or graphs it for you, if only I could figure out how to use it. It did help me get good test scores though.

Most powerful calculator money can buy.

Great calculator. It's the best thing out there, really--this is a seriously badass device. Bit of a learning curve initially, though--not ideal for dabblers. It really can do it all. Get it. It's a bargain. You can choose between Algebraic mode, "Textbook" mode, or the great RPN mode. Ships with a "manual", but that's really more of a Getting Started guide. There is lots of documentation downloadable online (Get it! You'll want it.).

Case--excellent build quality, attractive, and strong, (although not as heavy duty as the old school "tanks").

Keys--perfect. Feels great, positive tactile feedback. "click" sound optional.

Features--virtually every possible thing you can think of. Also completely reassignable--create your own layout, if you really want.
Programmable in five languages, including C and 2 flavors of Assembly.

512 KB RAM, 2 MB ROM, 2GB SD card slot. OS is updateable/replaceable. Can even run Linux, if that's your thing.

Excellent with symbolic math. Solve for any variable in an equation, integral and differential calculus--thousands of functions, lots of great downloadable libraries for engineering,surveying, aviation, statistics, actuarial functions, ad infinitum.

Connects to a PC via USB (which can also power it, with or without batteries), serial cable, or infrared. Good sync software.

Lots of free software available--more being developed all the time.

It's a shame that HP hasn't done more to promote this excellent tool.

Powerful but very difficult to use
A powerful calculator with lots of capability. However, very difficult to use.

Requires a lot of practice and a really good memory to perform even basic operations like complex numbers.