HP48 vs TI-92

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HP48 vs TI-92

Hi.  I weighed up the pros and cons for the world's two remotely
affordable programmable calculators.  I still have my nice and nasty
things to say about each.  God, I wish I could spend $400 (cost of each)
even on one calculator with the lot!


Here's my opinions.  I know it would take 10 times as much text to fully
compare them; but here's the points I find noteworthy.


To put it simply, the TI-92 is a computer trying to be a calculator, and
the HP-48G is a calculator trying to be a computer.  Look at the
processor in the HP-48.  It harkens back to the days of real slow speed
and is optimized for use with stack objects and with BCD math.  It has a
4 bit bus and instructions for goodness sake.  However, the work it's
typically doing saves it from extreme slowness.  The TI-92, however,
with a 68000, needs not mickey mouse around with cut down interface and
doing anything slowly.


I have little doubt that in general purpose processing, doing graphical
representation of formulas etc. the TI-92 utterly whips the HP48.


However, for mathematical and engineering purposes the HP48 gets a lot
of this back.  Its ROM wastes little space on niceities that the TI-92
has; but contains a wide set of equations and diagrams, and a couple of
darned fine functions.  And despite the response on the interface being
slower, if you've graduated the learning curve on anything you're doing,
or are doing something repetitive, you can do anything with a couple of
keystrokes rather than type function names.


Look at the ROM, the TI-92's meg vs the HP48G's 512K.  While its
instructions may do conventional computing slowly, the HP48 can make
very VERY good use of its space.  Just look at the instructions, common
instructions to perform mathematical tasks take only a nibble.  Its
object system makes storing functionality in SYS-RPL extremely
efficient.  The TI-92 has its nice interface and windows type feel coded
in 68000.


Yes, feel.  The TI-92 has shift-select and cut and paste and
overtype/insert like a windows text area.  As asking for a result
usually results in more computation being done to update the display
than "do the job", responses to any instruction are instantaneous due to
its speed in conventional processing tasks.  Yet in  the HP48, even with
the delay, you can hide the screen from view and still press a few
buttons in sequence to do what you want to do, if you have them learned
by heart.


Okay, the TI-92 is big; but having keys accessible (even nice
redundant/repeated ones!) is pretty cool when you're stationary using
the thing.


Here's my big peeve with the Ti-92, though.  And I know it's advertised
as a calculator, so my complaint is unfounded.  It's just that with its
big screen and processing power, I wish it had more RAM, and documented
interface to running Assembly.  I mean, with a bit more storage, this
thing is an Amiga minus the sprites.  I realize that most people who buy
these don't expand them; but goodness I would love to be able to plug
some extra Ram in.  There's room in that huge case.  The HP-48GX is
expandable beyond what anyone would want to, and with a RAM expansion
facility the TI-92 could be made to EMULATE anything you'd want to do on
a HP48GX if nothing else.




Yet, even now with both, I look at both and wonder which I would want to
learn fully and completely, devote the time to fill with mathematical
programs off the net I wish to run, to fill with neat front ends to
geometrical operations I wish to do one a calculator, to take with me
from a sinking ship with only one free spot in the life-raft. . . .


I still wonder HP48 vs TI-92 and I still can't decide.




Matthew C. Lamari


Disclaimer:  Opinions stated here are mine alone and not necessarily
those of my employer.