HP-39GII: Will it become a desired collectible?

[Tim Wessman]

(01-02-2015 02:54 PM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  I was hoping that the 39gII and the Prime would share the same source code with two makefile targets. Something like this.

That was the intent and it was possible for a long time. However several rather unfortunate things happened.

1) The company that makes the chip (Sigmatel) was purchased by another (Freescale) for the IP alone essentially. Within a few weeks everyone involved with the chip in question had left for greener pastures. We were 4/5 of the way through the project and suddenly there was no support or anyone who could provide information to us.

2) After it was launched, nearly everyone looked at it and said "Low price doesn't matter to us. Why doesn't it have a color screen and fanciness?".

So yeah...