Home > HP-49 series

1 The original version: HP-49G

The 49G has algebraic (default) and RPN entry modes, and is based on a 4 MHz HP Saturn processor.

The calculator is often compared to the Texas Instruments TI-89, which is targeted more towards classroom use and employs a drastically faster CPU. Speed of calculation varies between the two calculators for each particular problem, but generally the TI-89 CAS (based on Texas Instruments' Derive engine) outperforms that of the 49G (in areas such as simultaneous equation solving, integration, and matrix manipulation), though the 49G is faster in other areas – notably 3D plot generation and series expansion.

1.1 Basic characteristics

• Screen resolution: 131×64 pixels
• CPU: 4 Mhz Saturn
• Memory: 2 MB flash memoryFlash memory is a form of EEPROM that allows multiple memory locations to be erased or written in one programming operation. Normal EEPROM only allows one location at a time to be erased or written, meaning that flash can operate at higher effective speed and 512 KBThe kilobyte comes in two flavours, depending on the context in which it is used, meaning either 1,000 or 1,024 bytes. The kilobyte (kB) This uses the SI prefix kilo, and simply refers to 1,000 bytes (as a kilometre equals 1,000 metres). This is the notat RAM
• Computer algebra system: improved ALG48+Erable combination from the HP-48
• Communication: Serial portmale DB-9 serial port on the rear panel of a PC In computing, a serial port is an interface on a computer system with which information is transferred in or out one bit at a time (contrast parallel port). Throughout most of the history of personal compute

2 HP-49G Plus

The HP-49G Plus (sometimes written HP-49G+) features an ARM 75 MHz CPU and chipset, an SD memory card port, and a USB communications interface, amongst other improvements over previous HP-48/ 49 models.

2.1 Issues and bugs

There have been some issues regarding the 49G+. Initially there was a problem with battery life, but an upgrade of the system ROM has apparently fixed that. Also, some people have reported that the keyboard has not been registering keypresses. The keypress issue has not been confirmed and it is not publicly known if this is a major problem with the model.

The current ROM version can be determined by the command VERSION. The most recent version at the time this was written was 1.23, which should report as:

If the version reported is less than 1.23, the ROM should be updated. A current ROM, and installation instructions, can be found at HP's 49G+ homepage (see external links, below).