Which calculator would you reccomend?
05-26-2017, 01:47 AM
Post: #1
 Chris. Junior Member Posts: 6 Joined: Mar 2017
Which calculator would you reccomend?
35s,15c , 15c LE or 42s
I am taking calculus soon and most likely will not be able to use my HP prime.
Do you think it would be wise to sell my hp prime? In College
I prefer RPN.
05-26-2017, 02:30 AM
Post: #2
 rprosperi Senior Member Posts: 4,942 Joined: Dec 2013
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
(05-26-2017 01:47 AM)Chris. Wrote:  35s,15c , 15c LE or 42s
I am taking calculus soon and most likely will not be able to use my HP prime.
Do you think it would be wise to sell my hp prime? In College
I prefer RPN.

A used 15C will be cheaper than a 15C-LE, have a better keyboard, and has fewer bugs. The 35S has many bugs, though they are not encountered in typical use. The DM42 from SwissMicros is just entering beta-stage this week and is likely a good alternative to the generally more expensive used 42S, as it is fully compatible, has a much larger LCD, larger memory and the ability to transfer programs in/out via USB.

Is there any reason you aren't considering a 50g ? RPL is indeed harder to master than RPN keystroke programming, but the 50g has a CAS (not nearly as capable as Prime's but it is accessible from RPL) and has built-in support for symbolic calculus; all the other models can only do numeric approximations, which the 50g can also do, much faster and with better precision. Check it out.

--Bob Prosperi
05-26-2017, 02:31 AM (This post was last modified: 05-26-2017 02:40 AM by brickviking.)
Post: #3
 brickviking Senior Member Posts: 336 Joined: Dec 2014
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
(05-26-2017 01:47 AM)Chris. Wrote:  35s,15c , 15c LE or 42s
I am taking calculus soon and most likely will not be able to use my HP prime.
Do you think it would be wise to sell my hp prime? In College
I prefer RPN.

Personally, I'd keep the Prime, as there's no doubt you might find another use for it. Additionally, I have no idea what sort of Calculus you're doing, but at least for the AP Calculus AB or BC, a Prime is allowed (see the HP section here: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/pu...alculators for further details).

(Post 65)

Regards, BrickViking
HP-50g |Casio fx-9750G+ |Casio fx-9750GII (SH4a)
05-26-2017, 02:31 AM (This post was last modified: 05-26-2017 02:39 AM by lemontea.)
Post: #4
 lemontea Member Posts: 172 Joined: May 2014
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
Don't sell your Prime unless you really need the cash.

Keep the Prime, as it will get better and better with every new firmware version. (Or maybe as I hope, one day someone will jailbreak it and turn it into a super fast 48GX...).

The other thing is, you may not even be able to sell it for a good price (that is, not losing too much money), and you might want to buy it again in the future.

I have a Prime, sitting in a box somewhere.

By the way, if you have a smartphone (Android or iOS) there are CAS (Computer Algebra System) applications which can help you with calculus. Some are free, some are paid. This is a tangent (pun intended) to your calculator question, but also related (the reason is, you don't really need a super powerful calculator, when you get super powerful CAS software on your phone and computer nowadays).

For example, I only use my calculators (11C, 15C, 48G) to ASSIST me when I do hand calculations, or to add up the shipping and taxes to my online purchases (haha).

Otherwise, I would have my iPad running PocketCAS ($10 I think), with a bluetooth keyboard nearby. On the PC/Mac you can run XCAS (free) in command line mode, or install GeoGebra (also free) for a cleaner user interface. The 15C has pretty lousy Matrix calculations. You would be pretty annoyed trying to do it on the 15C (that's why I never do it on the 15C). But it is my favorite calculator. My 11C is my oldest one. My 48G is the one I use most of the time though. 05-26-2017, 02:37 AM (This post was last modified: 05-26-2017 02:38 AM by lemontea.) Post: #5  lemontea Member Posts: 172 Joined: May 2014 RE: Which calculator would you reccomend? Oh, forgot to add, XCAS is also the SAME underlying CAS software that is used on the Prime. So you can actually type the same commands in XCAS, GeoGebra, PocketCAS, and Prime. (I think maybe the TI-NSPIRE also uses it but who cares about that one!) So this way you don't need to re-learn everything. ALSO by the way, the super powerful Mathematica program is FREE (usually hundreds of dollars+++) if you get a$30 Raspberry Pi and install the NOOBS software (free).

Like I said, for powerful stuff, we can use CAS nowadays. So, don't need to get a super powerful super fast calculator.
05-26-2017, 03:28 PM
Post: #6
 Logan Member Posts: 139 Joined: Jul 2016
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
I don't know that any of those calculators would be useful for Calculus, where the focus is more on the process than on a numerical answer or estimation.

But for a daily calculator, out of those, I'd definitely recommend the 42s. Or if the Prime is really banned, you might consider a 50g which can be had for as little as \$50 and could be handy for verifying exact expressions in Calculus.
05-26-2017, 06:33 PM
Post: #7
 Tim Wessman Senior Member Posts: 2,270 Joined: Dec 2013
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
(05-26-2017 02:37 AM)lemontea Wrote:  PocketCAS, and Prime. (I think maybe the TI-NSPIRE also uses it but who cares about that one!)

Not in the "normal" version of the calcualtor. That is still based on Derive (but basically hasn't been changed/improved in any meaningful way since about 1995). There is a "jailbroken" version that you can run xcas on the nspire though. That is what you're thinking about.

Quote:Like I said, for powerful stuff, we can use CAS nowadays. So, don't need to get a super powerful super fast calculator.

Don't forget the Prime free apps as well for the various app stores. The CAS will be fully functional in all of those.

TW

Although I work for the HP calculator group, the views and opinions I post here are my own.
05-26-2017, 08:31 PM
Post: #8
 Vtile Senior Member Posts: 403 Joined: Oct 2015
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
HP35S is only in current production from HP. HP15C as a original calculator, is smaller much more a pocket calculator, but the HP35S is a bit more modern in its UI and features. That means it can do a few more tricks, by just pressing a few buttons.

If you end up with HP15C, then I personally would go with the SwissMicros clone (the bigger unit) as it do have 1200+ lines of program memory vs. 350 lines in original HP15C, which is a huge difference what you can do with the device. That is if I would pick a 15C which I would not do, while it is a lovely calculator, but the age unfortunately starts to show on it (missing some features and UI is a bit tedious to use, compared ie. from 1980s calcs.). Still a really lovely scientific calculator and really powerfull in right hands and so simple that you can memorise the whole UI and use it with blind eyes.

Personally I would wait and see if the Prime is OK to use.
05-26-2017, 09:17 PM
Post: #9
 lemontea Member Posts: 172 Joined: May 2014
RE: Which calculator would you reccomend?
(05-26-2017 06:33 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:
(05-26-2017 02:37 AM)lemontea Wrote:  PocketCAS, and Prime. (I think maybe the TI-NSPIRE also uses it but who cares about that one!)

Not in the "normal" version of the calcualtor. That is still based on Derive (but basically hasn't been changed/improved in any meaningful way since about 1995). There is a "jailbroken" version that you can run xcas on the nspire though. That is what you're thinking about.

Quote:Like I said, for powerful stuff, we can use CAS nowadays. So, don't need to get a super powerful super fast calculator.

Don't forget the Prime free apps as well for the various app stores. The CAS will be fully functional in all of those.

Tim just to clarify, you mean XCAS is not on the Prime, or not on the N-Spire?
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