Gauging interest in a DM48 or DM50?

[c3d]

(10-01-2024 02:21 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  I concur with a couple of Eric's comments above.

1. Calling them "DMxx" is a bad idea as that's the naming scheme used by SwissMicros and usurping it, even for alternate f/w that runs on their devices is a bad idea. This is not a legal comment, just sensible advice for a small, tight community.

I wish to also recognize that it's a "David & Michael" physical device. Maybe they don't need that recognition. Alternatives would include: "DM51" (refers to a nonexistent HP device, so no expectation of any compatibility), "DB48x" and starting a "non-compatible" line, and probably many others.

Quote:2. Using e.g. DB48X for a somewhat similar work-alike is indeed going to end up being confusing as many 'users' will presume it's just like an HP-48 and be utterly confused, or assume it's defective, or worse.

That concern was raised by Michael quite a few times, and frankly, I believe that it's misguided. I never had anyone complain that they were confused about it not faithfully emulating an HP48. On the web site and in all my communication, I always use the phrase "in the spirit of", and to me that means the spirit of innovation, pushing boundaries, and providing a great pocket calculator.

It does not mean there is no negative feedback. There were comments about the UI being different. There were bug reports about functions not working correctly (e.g. recently about collect / expand being broken) which, to be clear, are definitely considered as bugs since the spec is the HP manuals. I received comments about wanting a second shift key, arrow keys, a dedicated alpha key, and so on. But there has never been any complaint about any kind of confusion like "I tried to run the HP48 Lemmings on it and I don't know how to do it".

On the other hand, the reference to the HP-48 is totally intentional and I would argue it is necessary to set expectations about what you are getting. You are not getting an RPN calculator, you are not getting a Prime-style app marshmallow. If anything, the analytics I get for the iOS version confirm that referencing this mythical calculator is the right choice, and that people know what they get.

Quote: Get their attention immediately by using a different model number as Eric suggested, or some other naming scheme variation. The trailing X is good, but likely better alternatives can be found.

I'm not sure who "they" is in this comment, SwissMicros or potential customers? If we are talking about customers, then wouldn't "DM51" be counter-productive? Maybe not, after all this was the WP43S / C47 route.

Quote:Al of which is not to suggest to make it more like a 48 (or a 50), we have that already, please continue the innovation and continue to create newer, and better device behavior.

Thanks.