Best HP-15C emulator for the iPod/iPad
#1

Hi All,

What is the best HP-15C emulator for the iPod? I saw HP selling one for $29.95. That's a bit steep compared to the other 15C emulators in the Apple Store. What would you recommend?

Namir

PS: I bought the 41CX, 42S (two versions) and the HP-21 emulators.

Edited: 14 Apr 2010, 9:16 p.m.

#2

SCI-15C and RPN-15C I think are the best. RPN-15C has a lot of features (X,Y,Z,T display, macros, variable key size, portrait mode, etc...) and is only $7. That said SCI-15C is snapper and still my default 15C. SCI-15C has better key stoke accuracy.

Edited: 14 Apr 2010, 11:13 p.m.

#3

Thanks Egan!

#4

Quote:
SCI-15C has better key stoke accuracy.

Better even than a keyboard? ;-P

#5

No. Just better than RPN-15C.

"The keyboard is still king", Egan types on his keyboardless iPad. :-)

#6

you had to say this, didn't you? You had to! Knowing we are all geek, lusting after every new gadget. iPad. Now - how is it?

Cheers

Peter

#7

I mostly make fun of Apple. But the Ipad I have deep envy.

Waaay back in the dark ages of 80s, I dreamed of having a display that was touch-sensitive, that I could draw on--that instead of a digitizer or a mouse, I could "trace" on it--and now it looks like that technology is emerging.

Maybe it took more work than I ever imagined it would...

#8

Egan,

I will be using an iPad so the keys are big (especially if I use 2x scale to create a gigantic interface). I guess in this case either emulator you recommend is ok.

Namir

#9

Quote:
iPad. Now - how is it?

It's a big iPod touch primarily suited for the consumption of visual media as apposed to audio media.

I spend about 80 hours a month in public transportation (mostly planes followed by taxis, trains, subways, and buses). Hauling around a lot of paper to read was getting me down. Last November I actually read a book on my iPhone mostly on NY subways and taxis. So, I proved to myself that I should probably invest in an eReader. Fortunately, the B&N Nook was late or hard to get, then Apple announced, and I waited, and I am very glad I did.

The battery life is incredible, the form-factor is great, the WiFi sucks (SW fix being worked on), the screen is beautiful. Touch typing is actually doable.

All of my publications except two are available in PDF, so I switched over MAA, ACM, and SciAM. Wired will be digital soon leaving only one journal that is paper. But its small and only quarterly.

I no longer use my iPhone for portable video. It was always too small and a drain on the battery.

As for calculator emulators. All the iPhone emulators work, but blown up. Its actually easier to just keep using the iPhone as my calculator. The only emulator I think that will make the most sense would be a 71B. I have the iPad beta of m48+. I need to create an iPad skin for it (no time). Tying up the entire screen just for a calculator seems a bit ridiculous. Hopefully in the future the iPhone OS will have some type of widget support--mini apps that run on top of other apps, but I doubt it.

So far I am happy with it and very happy to dump paper newpapers, magazines, and books.

typos


Edited: 15 Apr 2010, 1:09 p.m. after one or more responses were posted

#10

I just tested SCI-15C and RPN-15C on my iPad. On the iPhone 3G RPN-15C is a bit sluggish and not as snappy as SCI-15C with the keystroke processing. I suspect that RPN-15C was tested on the iPhone 3GS or other faster iPods. On the iPad they perform the same.

#11

Quote:
The only emulator I think that will make the most sense would be a 71B.

Allow me to correct myself. I wouldn't object to having this:

#12

Quote:
Waaay back in the dark ages of 80s, I dreamed of having a display that was touch-sensitive, that I could draw on--that instead of a digitizer or a mouse, I could "trace" on it--and now it looks like that technology is emerging.

Wacom makes such a device (http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/cintiq-21ux.php). However it is only for drawing.

I wish the iPad had a stylus in addition to touch. A stylus would allow for content creation. The best iPad art software still takes a professional 2x longer than pen and paper.

I carry a Moleskin notebook in my bag for taking notes. Nothing bests a pen for quick notes, drawings, etc...

I'll be looking at other tablets. Since my original need was content consumption the iPad fit perfectly. But now I want more. I want to create in a natural way. I think I'll have to wait less than 12 months for someone to create the perfect tablet.

#13

sorry to hog this for one more iPad related question:

I do a lot of searching for academic papers and reading them or least skimming. However if it is interesting I would want to save it. Is that possible? All the info I found so far online would indicate no.

Also, it would be awesome to be able to email or otherwise get to the iPad papers I have. Say I found a couple of interesting papers at work, email/copy/whatever to the iPad, leave the office and read on the road. How easily is that done? From info online it would appear to be possible but it is not clear to me, how easy this would be.

I think what will be the killer thing for the iPad (or any such device) to have text-books on it, especially science text books. Imagine that you could have your physics text-books on the iPad - instead of describing a pendulum, you can show a video etc. You could include multiple choice tests right into the text book etc. That would be cool!

Cheers

Peter

#14

cool!

#15

Quote:
I do a lot of searching for academic papers and reading them or least skimming. However if it is interesting I would want to save it. Is that possible? All the info I found so far online would indicate no.

How do you read the papers? E.g. JSTOR will allow you to download any paper as PDF. There are multiple PDF readers for the iPad. I use Goodreader ($0.99US). I just drop all the PDFs I need into Dropbox.com, then Goodreader can pull from that.

If its Web based, then get iSaveWeb. I use that to get Web pages for reading offline. Its also an iPad app.

Quote:
Also, it would be awesome to be able to email or otherwise get to the iPad papers I have. Say I found a couple of interesting papers at work, email/copy/whatever to the iPad, leave the office and read on the road. How easily is that done? From info online it would appear to be possible but it is not clear to me, how easy this would be.

Easy. However, if you email them to yourself you must get your email while you still have WiFi. Unless you get the 3G + WiFi model (to be released).

Goodreader can read a lot of formats and has a built-in web server, you can always upload your stuff to yourself, or use dropbox like I do.

Quote:
I think what will be the killer thing for the iPad (or any such device) to have text-books on it, especially science text books. Imagine that you could have your physics text-books on the iPad - instead of describing a pendulum, you can show a video etc. You could include multiple choice tests right into the text book etc. That would be cool!

Some schools are considering the iPad for textbooks.
#16

Quote:
.. I actually read a book on my iPhone mostly on NY subways and taxis ..

A couple of years ago I read all the original James Bond books written by Flemming on my Palm TX. After the initial "getting used to" I was reading every chance I got during the day.. especially during travel, as you've described.

Interestingly, I do not read for long periods of time on my laptop. Never have. Is the iPad somehow different? I do not believe many people read novels on laptops or LCD monitors. Perhaps it's the ergonomics or form factor that is important, not the display itself.

#17

I have ClassicRPN on my iPOD, it has the 11C, 12C, 15C and 16C (the last is my favourite of these)

Meindert

#18

Quote:
Interestingly, I do not read for long periods of time on my laptop. Never have. Is the iPad somehow different? I do not believe many people read novels on laptops or LCD monitors. Perhaps it's the ergonomics or form factor that is important, not the display itself.

I think its more form-factor than screen. Most people I know sit in front of an LCD all day without complaint. And when they go home they sit in front of another LCD. :-)

I am not entirely sure what the difference is between emitted (LCD) and reflected (paper) light. IMHO, real books are still more pleasurable to look at than eBooks. Perhaps its the randomness of the reflected light, the texture of the paper, the crispness of the fonts.

As a frequent traveler it comes down to weight/benefit.

#19

If I may offer another random data point: I don't use e-readers and don't own an iPad, but the other day I started reading the Unix Haters Handbook, which I downloaded from somewhere in PDF format.

This is a 360-page book. I read the first 240 pages on my laptop, and the next day I read the rest on my iPod touch. I found the experience pretty decent on both machines, the main irritation being that you can't jump to a specific page on the iPod, and having to scroll all that way manually was annoying and took forever. There may be third-party PDF readers with a better user interface, but I haven't looked.

I can't see myself reading novels this way, though.

#20

Quote:
I found the experience pretty decent on both machines, the main irritation being that you can't jump to a specific page on the iPod, and having to scroll all that way manually was annoying and took forever. There may be third-party PDF readers with a better user interface, but I haven't looked.

Goodreader. $0.99.
#21

Quote:
Goodreader. $0.99.

I see they also have a free "lite" version, with the same functionality, just a limit on the number of documents it can handle. I'll give that a try. Thanks for the tip!



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