Differences between the DM-42 and upcoming DM-41x?

[DMaier]

I think the first thing you notice is that the 41X is using the original font. However, the DM41X does feature a modern re-implementation of the HP-41C/CV/CX plugin module system (unlike the DM41 and DM41L). You can import and export programs from the DM42, but that's all net new, relatively speaking, because that wasn't a feature of the original HP-42S.

The museum's write-up of the HP-42S describes the differences with the HP-41C/CV/CX, and, of course, there are differences between the HP-42S and DM42. The DM42 has considerably greater precision and range and adds a new mode for alpha input, for example (the differences with the HP-42S are covered by the DM42 manual on the Swiss Micros site).

Although they are largely software compatible, I do, in practice, find the calculators quite different to use. (No doubt there's endless reams of religious fury on the old HP Museum forum site about which of the old HP calculators is/was better. They kind of each have their own merits.)