I have found this file. It is from an official HP dealer in Spain:
http://ictiberia.com/datosftp/calculadoras/imf_1-ListaPrecios_sept2010.pdf
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New model HP 50g Blue
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Post: #3
10-10-2010, 01:20 PM
 That would be a cool color to have!! Tim!!! Can you bounce of a few blue 50G my way!! :-) Namir PS: My request reminds me of an Iraqi proverb "It is costly yet the demand is so cheap!"
Post: #4
10-10-2010, 01:20 PM
I don't get it. A SciCalc for Teletubbies or Smurfs? Perhaps the marketing department heard about "color" calculators and wanted to get into the action.
Old wine, new bottle. Edited: 10 Oct 2010, 1:21 p.m. ▼
Post: #5
10-10-2010, 01:41 PM
Looks to me HP is doing a "If we can't beat them, we'll join them". I can walk into my local Wal-Mart and buy a TI 84 in any color I want, blue, green, yellow, red, purple, orange, pink, silver, white or black. ▼
Post: #6
10-10-2010, 01:53 PM
I wonder how TI knows how many of each color to make. It probably does not matter. The TI tech is so old that they probably make 90% profit on each unit and can take a loss on unpopular colors. I am also curious as to 'why' make colors. My kid never got a choice throughout middle and upper school. It was always, "you must have this flavor of TI". Perhaps all the popular kids have a certain color and if you do not have that color then you are a loser, so you have to secretly 'lose' it and then get your parents to get you a new one. Of course the popular color then changes and the circle starts over again. Brilliant and evil. :-)
Perhaps the 50g not only needs to come in a rainbow of colors, but in patterns too, with rock-star, athlete, and Bill Nye the Science Guy endorsements. Edited: 10 Oct 2010, 1:58 p.m.
Post: #7
10-11-2010, 09:33 AM
Quote:HP's been there, done that: 39g, 49g, etc.
Post: #8
10-10-2010, 02:11 PM
This was in response to a specific request by retailers for a different color option. The color option also needed to be a bright and colorful one per request (zing and pop on the shelf. . . :-( ). The old model is still there and is not being replaced, but the blue is an *option* in this one region. More than anything, it is an experiment to see if there is need/desire to do multiple color options for units later on in the life cycle. It has nothing to do with "not being able to beat them", but rather the fact that retailers want (demand?) constant refresh on products even if they are identical. It helps them move more units. This represents nothing like a shift in strategy, a new future direction for colors or anything like that. If you don't like or want the blue, good! Neither do I, and the good black is still available. However, there may be some who do want a brighter option and the color is the driving factor in choosing to buy it. It also makes the channel happy, and when you get right down to it *they* not the end user is the direct customer for what we, or almost any other product manufacturer sells. TW P.S. I would buy a Bill Nye calculator. He is one awesome dude! :-) ▼
Post: #9
10-10-2010, 03:15 PM
It's a calculator! Who cares what colour it is?! Of course, seeing it in blue, I prefer the original black, so I guess I've answered my own question... ▼
Post: #10
10-10-2010, 04:33 PM
Quote:You should. Careful choice of a colours determines readability, discrimination of different sets of labels, etc., i.e. usability. That said, a dark background colour seems a good choice since 1972 at least. ▼
Post: #11
10-10-2010, 05:49 PM
I have no doubt that HP considers color choices these days. The colors probably look fine and, since they are not doing away with the original scheme, no big deal. More units sold is a good thing.
Post: #12
10-11-2010, 12:35 AM
Quote: Point taken - I prefer the original colour scheme because it is legible. My initial post was a bit of a knee jerk reaction...
Post: #13
10-10-2010, 06:19 PM
Reminds me of something Motorola said several years ago: "If we'd known how popular and how profitable alternative case styles would be for our cell phones, we would have gone into the plastics business." Engineers don't care what color their caluclator is. 99% of the public shopping at Target or Office Depot or Staples thinks "That's a nice color. I'll buy the blue one." ▼
Post: #14
10-10-2010, 06:31 PM
Steve, that's so true. I offered to buy my niece a TI-84 (needed for class, and HP wasn't "cool" enough for her) but she was lukewarm about it. When I found the version with the replaceable faceplates and one was purple, then it was "okay! I want that one!". So color does make a difference to kids these days. Thanks, Bruce ▼
Post: #16
10-10-2010, 08:21 PM
Quote: ...which doesn't make it proper to serve that whim. Color does make a difference to me. The incredibly poor color schemes of the Pioneers, the HP 48SX, the HP 48GX, and others are horribly incompetent and very poorly human-factored designs that seem to have been dedicated to selecting very worst low-contrast, miniscule, "left-coast artsy", ugly color schemes and key labeling in place of the excellent practical designs of earlier HP calculators. HP engineering really dropped the ball if it did not care about the colors that incompetent industrial design and marketing clowns established for the Pioneers and later. This new blue HP 50G follows that same path of low-contrast illegibility. One hopes there's enough common sense even in Europe to sink this horror, and to do so promptly. ▼
Post: #17
10-10-2010, 09:23 PM
Quote:
Years ago, when I was much younger, low-contrast illegibility was not a problem. Today it is a factor I can no longer ignore. IMHO HP only got this right once. I can always use my 39GS without trying to find my glasses. The white keyboard background is perfect for contrasting the key legends. So I really consider color important and I would prefer a white keyboard background. The Casio 9860G slim also has a light gray background. The 39GS and the 9860G are the only 2 calculators I am able to easily use anymore. Edited: 10 Oct 2010, 9:49 p.m.
Post: #18
10-10-2010, 09:54 PM
Quote: It certainly does if you're a business and people WANT different colors. The original Model A (T?) came only in black, but that was only long enough that people wanted other colors. Serving the customer, regardless of whim, is definitely acceptable. (IMHO) Thanks, Bruce
Post: #19
10-11-2010, 01:40 AM
Quote:(Emphasis added) ?? ▼
Post: #20
10-11-2010, 02:58 PM
Yes, the SX has a color schema with relative high contrast, so there should not be any problem. The left-shifted keylegends on the GX are not too good, but at least the layout is more consequent and logical than on the SX. Maybe the initial 49g (aka FHB) was meant, with blue and dark red legends on a metallic blue surface, or the initial 12c platinum with alu kbd overlay, which has light yellow shifted legends printed on it. The person(s) who chose _those_ unergonomic color combinations should instantly get fired. And since we're at it: The shiny surface incl. display cover on the disappointing 30b is not very ergonomic, too. However children seem to like shiny surfaces and colorful devices;-)
Post: #21
10-11-2010, 02:14 AM
Quote: And the curious thing about that statement? The schemes/designs were fundamentally the same: White, yellow and blue (in that order) function legends on a dark background (black or dark brown) were used on the HP-48S/SX as well as all Pioneer series except the HP-22S, HP-27S, and later HP-32SII -- just like their immediate non-RPL predecessors HP-41, HP-71B, and Voyager series. (Silver letters for alpha input were used on the HP-32S/SII.) Yes, the HP-28C, the HP-48G, and later HP-32SII used different color schemes including 'designer colors'. The HP-22S and HP-27S omitted very-legible yellow, but followed the scheme otherwise. Mike, I agree with you that the "white, yellow and blue on a dark background" scheme was ideal and should have been retained. However, your continual repeating of the same opinionated misinformation is a disservice. -- KS
Edited: 11 Oct 2010, 4:36 a.m.
Post: #22
10-11-2010, 10:21 AM
Quote:Mike, the marketplace seems to disagree with you on this.
Post: #24
10-11-2010, 12:31 AM
This is terrible. I'm now convinced that HP has lost the recipe.
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Post: #25
10-11-2010, 04:12 AM
I would like an HP50g with the save beveled keys as HP41 and the same color (dark brown) ▼
Post: #27
10-12-2010, 10:31 AM
Quote: ▼
Post: #29
10-12-2010, 04:16 PM
To which Pavneet posts his obligatory ``This is my favorite HP calculator of all time.'' ;) ;). Once in a while I can beat Gene before he says it on my behalf ;). Cheers. Edited: 12 Oct 2010, 4:17 p.m.
Post: #32
10-12-2010, 10:48 PM
I concur. Guess why we called our reconfiguration project 34S d:-) Ceterum censeo: HP, launch a 43S!
Post: #33
10-15-2010, 02:22 AM
John -- Absolutely -- the HP-34C had great looks, as well as a superb 3-color manual and groundbreaking capabilities. Aside from several design flaws that degraded reliability, it was also kind of a chore to use. With only 30 keys and two slide switches, three shift keys were necessary to cover all of its functions.
GSB, GTO, and labels A and B were unshifted. Perhaps it was believed that the typical user would be a programmin' demon... All of these problems were addressed in the HP-11C, and the HP-15C subsequently eclipsed both. It goes to show how H-P's engineers of that era were thinking "how can this be done better" wherever possible. -- KS
Edited: 15 Oct 2010, 2:42 a.m. ▼
Post: #34
10-15-2010, 09:26 AM
The labeling was very legible. The placement of the Enter key on the left with -, +, x, and / directly below suited me. Being able to use it to program saved many trips to the computer center at school. Yes, the shift keys are needed quite a bit. I've had no mechanical problems with mine and still use it with 2 AA batteries.
John |
