HP 39gs Graphing Calculator

I like the color scheme, the overall look, and the slid-on hard cover. I love how fast it is compared to the older HP 39G. The IR port is handy if working with an HP printer or exchanging programs and data with another 39gs calculator. I like the algebraic graphing calculator implementation from HP much better than TI's attempts. The reason for that preference is HP's UI model, which is not only modal, but laid out so it is intuitive and easy to learn. If you can find one, and don't require a CAS, the 39gs is a great value.

Son love it very easy to use. Great for This price..

No RPN, Why? Its HP. Why?

Best for its price. It has all you need for less, without sacrificing quality. Great for engineering students from all fields.

I bought two of these back when a So. Calif. vendor first introduced them, and both were NEW. They're quality products, and have a unique (to me) approach to what must be high-school math these days: the three primary functions are SYMBolic, PLOT, & NUMerical. With a single button you can switch between these three very different views of a problem. Here's a for-example:Search Youtube for [ veritasium logistic map ] to find "This equation will change how you see the world (the logistic map)". I was easily able to implement this difference equation in the SYMB side of the "Sequence" APLET then bounce between continually updating R (like "3.1->R" on the "command-line") and seeing the result in the PLOT (above a certain R I'm beginning to see the bifurcations).There's a tremendous amount of functionality that's partially crippled by access (now where did I see that function...). More importantly, several straightforward functions seem to be missing: there's no "clear-all-(27)-variables", said storage locations are severely restricted as to naming (A->Z plus "theta" for single-number memory slots, fixed letter-number combos for other objects such as "M1" for the first matrix, "L0" for the _last_ list, _&c_), and if there's an H.hhhh<-> H.mmss conversion, I can't find it.But for me the biggest drawback is the programming, as in there-ain't-none. One can clone an APLET then modify some rules (I think...), but this amounts to only allowing non-procedural programming (OK HP, here's my equation, and I want _you_ to numerically solve for Y(X) given A, B, C, & my specific X). There's no provision for _procedural_ programming (read x; if x < 0 then goto a else goto b ; label a ...), which is what most of the problems I'd like to solve lend themselves to. Even if I could "think" interesting problems into non-procedural space, there doesn't seem to be provision to automagically chain equations together, so that the ultimate answer is just a turn-of-the-crank.So long as you're willing to abide by the restrictions, it's a great & fast calculator. But I regret this my purchase, and would gladly sell both NEW and LIKE-NEW (I had to learn on one of them) if only Amazon hadn't frozen out us small-time sellers from SellerCentral. This style's just not for me.

I’ve used HP calculators for many years, always with Reverse Polish Notation. As those calculators have become increasingly scarce, the models with multi-line stacks have become prohibitively expensive, and the build quality has dropped, I thought I would give the HP39gs a try. And you know, it’s pretty great. The symbolic interface is so good that I don’t miss RPN at all. In some problems, it’s much simpler than RPN even. And the build quality is great, like an old HP 48g. The apps are a mixed bag, but nowadays I would solve most app-worthy problems on a real computer anyway. Be wary of price though; this calculator sells for anywhere between $25 and $150 depending on vendor. [addendum: the screen is not as nice as that on the HP 39gII but it boots much faster. For most users, I think the 39gs will be preferable]

Does everything you need without being too expensive. Lots of handy built in features.