Dear Tim,
I'm a structural engineer too and I think I can tell you some impressions for beeing a user
of a 48GX and a 49G.
In my humble opinion,
The HP48GX pros are,
1-Many libraries for structural analysis such for checking stresses on trusses, beams, columns,
slabs and foundations, and many of them with no cost, just download it and install on 48GX.
2-Two slots, like the four HP41 ports, let the user expands and freely change applications
cards easily and fast.
3-IR port. We can send and recieve data between two HP 48G's machine and print on the thermal
portable printer.
4-Formulas lib's are very useful.
5-Price. For about US$ 130,00 you can buy one of them.
The HP48GX cons are,
1-Machine is very slow if compared to a 49G.
2-LCD contrast is the one of its weakness.
3-Memory. Only 128K ram for applications don't let us much free space for testing news libraries
without have to detach others.
4-No connectivity kit included.
5-Included manuals are incredible poor and dim.
The HP49G pros are,
1-Machine is astonishing fast
2-LCD contrast is much better than 48G
3-Memory. 241K IRAM, 255K ERAM and 940K Flash. Total 1.43 MB
4-Fast 3D graphics. Really realtime rotation
5-We don't have to buy a 49G"X". The rom is flashrom and can be upgraded with new roms versions
when they become avaliable on hp site.
The HP49G cons
1-The keyboard is simply stupid. They are made of rubber, like the old sinclair's spectrum.
2-No IR. We can't print on hp portable printer.
3-No card slots. It seems that the processor can't address more than we have on this calc
4-No much libraries for structural analysis. We are lucky if we find something on this
subject specially designed for the 49G. We have to do ourserlves what we need. Only UserRPN codes
are compatible with the two HP's. Libraries compiled for 48 can't be run on a 49 and vice versa.
5-Included manual is the worst made by human being.
In resume, the best calculator for structural analysis is a 49G with a huge structural libraries
of a 48GX, a keyboard, color and a neverending magic of a 41C series.
Pio