Best Keyboard of the HP 28/48/49/50 Series

[Eddie W. Shore]

What do you think is the best keyboard of the RPL graphing series?

I would vote for the 48G and the 48S keyboards. (I still like the 48S colors the best). The math and program menus do not need a shift key to access, the menus are nicely kept nicely organized on the keyboard, the polar/rectangular and radian/degree mode toggles are present, and the secondary functions of the arrow keys are printed.

[bluesun08]

I agree. The 48S have the best keyboard layout. It is more intuitive and clearer than the keyboard of the 48G. Furthermore i hate the choose menus on 48G. The soft menus ("screen keys" or "menu keys") in 48S are great and effective.

[Keith Midson]

28S wins for me. Especially for programming.

[Matt Agajanian]

Second the vote. Simple. Uncluttered, Easily navigation around grouped keys. Runner up would be the 48SX--although each key has triplicate functionality, nomenclature is uncluttered, legibly spaced and the keyboard matrix is not overwhelming (unlike the early Commodore S61 Statistician. Now, that's a cluttered keyboard!

Edited: 12 July 2012, 1:03 p.m.

[Les Koller]

I'd rule out 50G on basis of ENTER key location alone!

Edited: 11 July 2012, 1:21 p.m.

[Mike Morrow]

The location of the 50G ENTER key, placed in proper ergonomic position in the same column as the /x-+ keys, is superior to and more logical than any of the idiotic post-Spice placements of the ENTER key on the left side and the /x-+ keys on the right side. No matter which side of the keyboard these five keys are located, they should always be in the same column. For the 50G, they are, though not as well arranged as they should be.

The 50G has the best keyboard of anything HP made after the HP-41 and Voyager era, with its great high contrast color scheme. The color schemes of the 48Sx (and Pioneers) of sickly orange on feces brown, and that of the 48Gx of low contrast low definition light blue and purple on greenish gray are doubtless both the poorest keyboards in the history of HP. There must have been some "artistic types" in HP's industrial design team for whom ergonomics and usability were alien and ignored concepts.

Edited: 12 July 2012, 1:26 a.m.

[Les Koller]

I've been using HP calculators for 32 years now and the 50G is the first I have used with the ENTER key on the bottom right. After 32 years, that takes a little getting used too. I didn't mention colors or placement of any other keys. The ENTER key is in the wrong spot.

[bluesun08]

Definitively!

[Gilles Carpentier]

I also like very much the 50G keyboard. it s the best for me even if it is not so 'sweet' than my old 48. I vote 50G wich is far better for me.

The color pattern is very well done with a high contrast ( quite perfect even in low light condition)

The keyboard disposition is in my point of view very good. The shift keys are very well exploited (WIN / GRAPH...). I would have prefered an unshifted PREV key, and perhaps a shift key for MODE and APPS (this area of the keyboard may be better i think, with the idea that it s better to unshift the more frequent command (but i agree it depends on the usage !))

One important point for me (48 49 50) is that in alpha mode you can enter letters _and_ numbers. i regret that it is no more the case on the new 39GII

Edited: 12 July 2012, 8:39 a.m.

[Dave Britten]

I'd rule it out on the basis of stiff keys, and an abysmal layout.