HP 50g

Introduction

The HP50g was introduced in September 2006 and withdrawn in 2015. It was the final calculator of the HP48 and HP49 series. As a derivative of the HP49G+, the HP50g differed physically in a number of ways: a redesigned case; a better keyboard than the HP49 series (though not quite up to the standard of the original HP48S/SX/G/GX models); a better screen; USB, RS232 and IrDA (IrCOMM) connectivity; support for 2GB SD cards (compared to 1GB cards on the HP49G+), and uses four AAA batteries.

The HP50g also included the full equation library from the HP48G/GX and the periodic table capability that was available as a plug in card for the HP48SX.

Like the HP49G+, the HP50g is based on an ARM processor running a SATURN CPU emulator and like its predecessor it can be programmed in a number of ways: RPL; SystemRPL (using the built-in MASD tool); SATURN assembly language; ARMv4T assembly language. The ability to run native ARM code has allowed the development of a C cross compiler and consequently other languages like LUA have been implemented.

Whilst the HP50g includes RS232 capability, it runs at a slightly different voltage and consequently requires a dedicated cable/adapter in order to operate correctly. The SD card slot supports 2GB cards, however the display of SD card size and the ability to format cards on the calculator is limited to 1GB. IrDA allows HP50g to HP50g transfers without the use of cables or physically swapping SD cards. In common with the HP48 series the IrDA range is limited to about 4 inches in order to prevent transfers across a classroom.

Compared to the later HP Prime, the HP50g supports backward compatibility with many programs, either at source or binary level, from the HP48 and HP49 series.

Principal Features

75Mhz ARM9 CPU 512K RAM 2MB Flash ROM 131x80 High Contrast LCD Communications via IrDA (IrCOMM), RS232 or USB SD card slot (supports 2GB FAT32 formatted cards) Object based Symbolic algebra Computer Algebra System Step-by-step solving "Infinite" stack (to limit of available memory) Reverse Polish Notation or Algebraic (switchable) Matrix handling Complex numbers Extended integers Units Periodic Table Equation Library 2D/3D graphing with tracing and zooming, real-time rotation Enhanced User Interface including Filer application, faster Matrix and Equation editors RPL, SystemRPL and Assembly language programming Built in SystemRPL and SATURN assembly language compiler Accessories: HP Connectivity Kit

HP50g

Emulators

For PC users, the excellent Emu48 is available from www.hpcalc.org. It allows you to emulate the HP50g, as well as the HP38G, HP39G, HP40G, HP48S, HP48G and HP49 models. You can even pick different skins (KML scripts) for the different machines to suit your PC's screen resolution. Download HP50g specific files from here.

Availability

The HP50g is no longer in production. It has been superseded by the HP Prime.

Books

Contact Wlodek to order books. HPCC members can find ordering details and a full book list in the Memberpack.

Note that books about the HP48 are generally relevant to the HP50g as the machines share much underlying software.

Datafile Articles

Links

hpcalc.org (HP50g Software Archive)
HP50g Emulator
HP50g User Guide
HP50g User Manual
HP50g Advanced User Reference