The programmable calculator the HP-30b should have been

[Tim Wessman]

(09-01-2014 03:55 PM)Joseph_21sv Wrote:  But honestly, how much more expensive is a CPU that can directly control as few 90 more display segments?

You would actually be surprised. You would also be surprised how much a "simple chip" being added in can drive up the final price and cost. Usually, you have not just the chip but quite a few other components that needs to get added on. That includes all the simple caps and resistors, but very often includes changing power supply chips and other expensive things.

At the time there was selection in process for a chip to run the 10bII+, 12c, 15c, 20/30b, that chip was the best option available. Picking a chip is not simply a matter of "here's this one on the side that will run more pixels", you have to balance everything from physical interlinks on the chips that support certain protocols, power requirements, external components, to assembly costs (which package does that chip come in), testing costs, and a slew of other considerations.

In fact, the absolute best option that would have been available would have been to put a complete SECOND system-on-chip of the exact same variety on the board. Any other chip we could have chosen at that point would were deficient in one way or another and could not function without severly driving up the cost.