Advice on Purchasing an HP

[brickviking]

I've heard all the recommendations here, but nobody's spoken up for the 50G. The laugh is that I would happily recommend the 50G over anything else. Yes, the 48GX is more "classic" and yes it's true that there are literally thousands of programs for it. A lot of those same programs may work as-is on the 50G, or there are more modern replacements specifically for the 50G. Here's my list of pros and cons for the 50G:
Pros:

• USB/serial/IR connectivity. (48GX only has serial and IR).
• SD card up to 2GB unless you have newRPL (alpha software). 48GX only (officially) has cards up to 4MB and those are very hard to get.
• Faster speed (on average, 7 - 10 times faster than the 48GX).
• More recent firmware (2009), and libraries that used to be an add-on for the 48GX are now built-in.
• Screen is clearer than most of the earlier 48GX family, though if you get a "proper" black screen on the 48GX, it comes closer.
• Screen is larger in pixels (131x80 instead of 131x64). This can allow for displaying more stack levels in RPL.
• Uses four AAA batteries and a CR2032, so a set of batteries lasts longer. In addition, if you plug in the USB cable, you can power the calculator off it, though it won't charge batteries.
• Like the 28S and 48 family, it uses RPL with a stack only limited by available memory.
  

Cons:

• Not sold by HP any more; though you can still buy them on sites like Amazon, prices aren't as cheap as they were. In comparison, the 48GX hasn't been sold by HP for decades and is really only available second-hand, and very few New-In-Box 48GX units exist through the major retailers.
• Not all 48GX programs are compatible with the 50G, especially those using SysRPL.
• IR is not quite compatible with the 48GX or the printer. Range is considerably reduced over the 48GX.
• Paper manuals, when you can get them, are reportedly not of the same quality of writing as the 48GX.
• Though you can still get 2GB SD cards, they're starting to get harder to get.
• Some USB drivers can be dicky, especially considering the Windows 10 eco-system.
• No memory expansion—either ROM or RAM—beyond that already on the device. This also means that cards for the 48GX won't work (as is) on the 50G, as there's simply no place to put them. They may work if rewritten as a library, and modified for the 50G environment.
• The ENTER key isn't in the "canonical" place, as it is on the 48GX and some earlier calculators. There have been religious wars about this one key and its placement.
• It's not as "classic" as the 28S/41C/42S, though it doesn't have the same weaknesses.
• The UI is different from the 48GX, though it's debatable whether it's worse or the same.
  

I'll leave others to produce a set of pros and cons for the 48GX; I don't have one so I'm not qualified to comment on its strengths and weaknesses.

Both the 48GX and the 50G have emulation options available on the PC in the excellent EMU48 (or EMU48+) (Windows) and x49gp (Linux/OSX only). x48 also exists for Linux, but doesn't hold the same degree of support as EMU48. That way, you can evaluate the interface for both at your leisure before deciding to purchase either. Most other HP calculators also have PC emulators, though you may have to hunt a little for them.

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