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Hewlett-Packard (Calculator) Hewlett-Packard is a massive corporation that produces hundreds of products. But the focus of this debate is thier calculators. HP's main competition in this area is TI (Texas Instruments). More focused on the subject, we'll be discussing about the HP39G+ and HP49 versus the TI-83 Plus and TI-89. 
The first thing that is noticed with these calculators is the price. Over the past years, TI calculators have been approximately US $50 cheaper than the HP models. One can ask why are HP calculators more expensive, maybe HP is trying to earn more profit than TI? Could a corporation as big as Hewlett-Packard be so greedy as to raise the price of it's top-notch calculators by $50, even though it's calculator department is a fraction of the size compared to HP's computer and printer department? Or could it just be that HP calculators cost more to produce. Whatever the reason, many high schools and students have adopted the TI calculator because it's cheaper and is very easy to find in stores. But does that mean TI calculators are more superior to HP calculators? At first, not many people know that such calculators as the HP39 and HP49 exist, and the few people who have "played" with them complain of the complicated RPN mode used on the HP calculators, or better known as the Polish Style of calculating numbers. Essentially the user must first enter the value then enter the operation such as plus or minus (For example, first push 5 then hit '+' and 5 will be added to the previous number in the stack). I understand this problem as well, since I also had to learn how to use the HP39. I do agree that RPN is annoying, but just like everything in life, it has its pros and cons. HP realized the RPN wasn't a favorite among the crowd, so they created the HP49 with both RPN and Algebraic modes (TI's use the standard algebraic mode). Therefore, people can no longer say that HP calculators are unnecessarily difficult to use now that the HP49 has the same input structure as the TI and more. To be fair, the HP calculator is slower than the TI calculators. HP decided to use the same processor over and over again in their newer models and therefore is considerably slower than the TI's which have updated processors. When graphing functions, this problem is quite noticable. On average, the TI-89 is about 3 times faster than the HP49. In my old highschool, teachers would suggest that their students use two HP calculators in their AP (Advanced Placement) exam so that while one calculator is solving one problem, they can use the other while they wait. Since I was going to study physics and high-level math in highschool and college, I needed to buy either the TI-89 or HP49. I did understand that the TI is much faster than the HP, but was that the real reason for buying a calculator? I learnt that the HP had so many more options and functions than any mathematician could possible ask for, plus it had enough RAM that you could download updates and specific programs designed for a specific study. Therefore, I decided to buy the HP49 because of the endless list of functions and the java-like programmablity available on the calculator. I have met many students who have never seen a HP calculator and for the few that have think it inferior to their TI-83 Plus and sometimes their TI-89. I ask them why. The majority are unable to follow through with an answer other than it's different and being human, different is bad. Others try to justify TI's superiority by explaining that there are more TIs in highschools and universities. Interesting point that quantity means quality and you will see this "problem" over and over again in my other debates. Don't get me wrong, quantity can mean quality in such as a car make. For example, Honda Civics are very popular with drivers in the United States, why? Probably because it's good quality for what you pay and there is the catch, for what you pay. So would a Honda Civic be more superior than a Nissan Skyliner because there are more Civics on the roads? Back to the issue of this page, would spending an extra $50 for a calculator be worth it? Depends on many factors of the buyer. How long does the buyer need the calculator? For one course that he/she needs to take? To finish highschool or earn that 4-year degree? Or better yet one that buys a calculator in highschool and plans to use it throughout highschool and university and during his/her career. Now if one is like the first case where he/she only needs it for a year or two to filful a requirement, then purchase the cheaper option. If you need a calculator for college and are persuing a degree with a mathematical background, it makes sense that purchasing the better calculator will make your student career easier. And if you are a buyer that needs your calculator to last you for about a decade, purchasing the best calculator at that time will insure you a longer lifespan for that calculator due to the fact that technology moves at an exponential rate. So to sum this one idea up, just because one sees TIs more often than HPs, and because one finds it easy and more convenient to use, doesn't mean it's more superior to the HP. Cause the day will come when a TI user will need to use a function that is not offered on the TI or will be limited by not having the feature to upgrade their TI. For example, something as simple as figuring derivatives and anti-derivates is easily solved and beautifully displayed by the HP using it's Blackboard Mode. As for the TI-83 Plus, solving improper anti-derivatives is not offered. Even more, can the TI download files from the internet that contain, for example, physics equations, the periodic table, or better yet games? And most of these programs are free made available by HP49 and HP39 users that programmed this software on their own HP calculators! To see for yourself, you can view one of the most famous HP sites called http://www.hpcalc.org (Babal is a classic favorite among HP users). And now what becomes silly in the number of functions is that the HP39's have an infared reader at the top end. This is mainly used for two HP39's to communicate with each other. Surprisingly this feature is used alot in the classroom when teachers copy programs to their students in order to tackle specific sections in the syllabes and then students copy files between themselves including games. I came across one case where one student got hold of a program on the internet that allows his HP to act as a television remote and he was able to change the channels and volume on the TV in his classrooms. Unfortuneatly, due to many complaints from the College Board that students can use their infared reader to cheat during their SAT and AP exams, HP had to remove this feature from the HP49 leaving an empty slot at the top end of the calculator. And for those who are wondering, both HP39 and HP49 calculators are approved by the College Board and therefore allowed on the SAT and any AP exam that requires calculations. |
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