I've owned my HP-50G since 2006 and use it almost every day. I believe I've had to change batteries in it three or four times over those years and I think that this means that the device is outstanding in power management.
Yet, I've read (mostly in the Amazon reviews of the device) that for some owners, the calculator eats batteries very quickly.
Curiosity drives my question - was there an HP-acknowledged problem with some of the HP-50Gs?