All I need, 100% customizable NOTICE LATEST ROM UPGRADE
Latest re-review:
One of the issues this calculator had (and probably the most complained about issued) was that the keypad would not register sometimes when typed very fast. HP released this month the latest upgrade for the ROM which is similar to the BIOS on a PC.
It is easy and safe to install and improves many aspects including the keypad issues!
Follows my old review:
When I was first allowed to take graphing calculators into examination rooms, I didn't know what calculator to pick, given the variety available in the market.
I picked the HP49G+ because it was suggested by one of the top teachers at Manchester University. I must say and highlight the fact that If I'd written this review during the first 2 months with my HP, I would have given this product 1 star. Here is my experience:
My first week with this calculator was a terrible mess, I decided to keep using my very simple Casio for exams because I was afraid I might not know how to use the HP calc.
One thing which I think is wrong was the fact that the manual was rather fat but didn't explain things well, or at least simply enough for me to understand them, in particular the file transfer and installation of additional software took me great effort to work out.
However, as days passed by, I started to discover and become familiar with all the functions of this very powerful tool. As an engineer, you normaly have to adapt yourself to every new situation, and this is what happens with the HP49G+. You start customizing it and after 2 months of regular use you just know exactly how to get what you want from your HP, needless to say that it can solve 99% of all the mathematic processes involved in any engineering course, you just need to become familiar with it.
I was given a TI-89 Titanium as a gift as well, this calculator is perhaps the most similar competitor to the HP49G+, I have no problem to say that some colleagues and my self did serious benchmarking on the 2 calculators solving really complex and memory demanding operations, 95% of the time, the TI was faster (above 60% faster overall). But to get a better picture, if the TI would solve a problem in 1 second, the HP would need 1.6 seconds, is not a big issue here. But appart from that, the TI seems like a personal diary, or one of those electronic agendas which in my opinion make it look less serious and professional. I mean, why would an engineer need virtual tests in Calculus, that seems to me as a function for students before they reach university. What is more important for an engineer, is to rely on a calculator which can be 99% re-programable and which supports thousands of available applications in many different subjects, the HP doesn't come with a phone book, but that's silly, I think TI is for a student who just wants his calculator to give him a degree, on the other hand HP is the real thing, I would say that you really need to be an engineer or have the skills to be one to use it.
My suggestions for this calculator, or what you should really know:
-Some people have had problems with the keypad, I've used my HP for 7 months now, almost 4 hours a day and still works fine. People must consider that many different versions have been released and I believe latest ones don't have any keypad issues.
-You really need to put some effort in understanding how it works, it is not a Nintendo.
-Batteries do last 1.5 months on average.
(...)Read full review
