It has an overwhelming capability , keyboard feels HP quality , can do anything you throw at it and if you never used one before , it has a steep learning curve , having said that , the screen is outdated , not as clear as other calculators, it is a little bulky , thick and comparing it to the Prime G2 I bought , the prime is a much more advanced calculator , color , touch screen , easy to access the contents . I bought the 50G for nostalgic reasons , for curiosity . It keeps me busy during Covid days .... if you need a powerful graphic calculator the Prime G2 is clearly the way to go . Same price and much better , I will also say that the Prime is outdated ... low resolution small screen . The HP app for cell phones is the best interface . I find that putting it on an iPad gives it a great size , nice keys and all touch screen . It definitely feels that the mechanical key calculator days are over . Anything you pick today will be a collectors item in 10 years . HP has basically 2 people working in the department supporting calculators . Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The HP 50g is the best scientific calculator ever produced (HP Prime more powerful and extremely faster, but for routine calculator programs and ease of use, the 50g still gets my vote, especially since it does not use rechargeable batteries). The TI cx calculators are more powerful and extremely faster, but use rechargeable batteries - ugh- and the programming is not as nice) . In my opinion, the best competitive scientific, graphing calculators are not even in the same class as the HP 50g -- the HP 50g is far superior. The HP 50g supports the RPN operating system which is, by far, best calculator operating system available. The HP 50g can accomplish almost anything, if not anything, that can be expected of a scientific, graphing calculator. The programming language is not as intuitive (user-friendly) as on some other calculators, but allows more power and flexibility. The greatest weakness of this calculator is the keyboard quality and durability. The keyboard has been greatly improved over the HP 49g+ keyboard, but whether it is up to former HP quality is questionable -- my calculator keyboard is losing some keyboard crispness after only a year of use. I have always been partial to HP calculators because I am a scientist, and the superior scientific power of HP calculators has been the deciding factor. In the past, HP calculators have been substantially more costly than competitive calculators, but have been worth more due to their superior mathematical algorithms, scientific power, and overall mechanical quality. Now, the HP 50g is competitive in cost, if not cheaper, than the best competitive scientific, graphing calculators, is much more powerful for scientific and mathematical usage, but is not obviously superior in mechanical quality. I would point out that integrations are slower on this calculator than on the TI-89 and later TI's, and double integrations are practically useless compared to the TI-89 and later TI's. The speed differential is about 100X slower for double integrations than for the TI-89. I've had to do many quite complicated double integrations over the past year and have found the HP-50g to be useless for practical reasons.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
I am graduate of the HP41CV/CX school of programmable calculators and waited for a calculator with a multi-line screen and more muscle for large programs. I thought the HP48 was it, but was disapointed that text and data operations in the 48 were too anemic for me. I wanted to have prompts (or function keys) for input and at least four lines of "labelled" outputs at a time for the results. Now, twenty-plus years after the demise of old faithful HP41, along comes the HP50g. Glad I waited. Now let's get to the book review. Just bought an new HP50g and the documents provided leave much to be desired. I bought this guide to learn how to use the calculator. It has 110 pages and is well written for a guide that is not produced by a professional publisher. I am about one-third of the way through the book and find some of the new concepts tough to grasp. I have to read a portion two or three times before understanding it. Don't get me wrong, this calculator ain't no four-function toy. It is one son-of-a-gun to learn and this guide makes it easier. Pros: the guide organizes the information in a meaningful way (HP take note). It also explains the whats ('and whys') of the calculator pretty thoroughly. Cons: not enough examples (at least in the early sections) to illustrate the lessons being explained, and it needs a glossary of new terms for those of us new to the HP 48/49/50 calculator. Also, an index would be good. One last nit to pick: The guide is published using one-column per page. I would have preferred two columns per page. Most of us only grasp about 40 characters at a time while reading. e.g. newspapers and novels. Text lines six-plus, inches long are harder to read. Added to a difficult subject matter, I need all the help I can get. Bottom line: Next to the guide's Table of Contents, is an aviators/sailors, Wind Triange program with prompts and annotated (labelled) outputs. My quest for the right calculator and this guide are vindicated. If you have an HP50g, get this guide and a copy of the HP49 Advanced User's Reference Manual (free online). The reference manual describes the calculator and its command set. This guide explains 'how' to use the calculator.Read full review
Personally the Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) capability and very deep stack are the things I value most because they make complex calculations easier.. The learning curve is a bit steep compared to the HP Prime and the display is monochrome and not backlit but for everyday engineering use I think its hard to beat. You just need to learn to use it. Since it is discontinued I bought an extra as a backup since I think it will be my main calculator for a long time.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The HP 50G is one of the greatest scientific calculators ever made. I have used numerous other units including the HP 42S, HP 35S, HP 32SII, HP 41CV, HP 41CX, HP 15C, HP 48GX, and the HP PRIME, and I would have to place the HP 50G in the top 3 along side the HP 48GX and the HP 42S. The unit is immensely powerful and can handle anything thrown at it. The layout is very well thought out, the keyboard quality is very good, and the color scheme looks very inspiring and very "Engineering." Compared to the HP 48GX, another timeless classic, the HP 50G is much faster ant touts considerably more computing power. The unit is COMPLETE - it contains EVERYTHING that any real Engineer will ever need.
Verified purchase: No
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