An HP-42SII...Would HP go for it?

[Les Bell]

(04-24-2014 06:06 AM)anetzer Wrote:  Which is why the functionality of the USB-port - or in some weird dream: bluetooth module - on the 43S will be crucial! We will never again see card readers and other calc-centric peripherals. They will use smartphone accessories or be deaf blind and numb...

Agreed; while HP-IL could do some amazing stuff, it never caught on in the wider market in the way that USB has done. It potentially allows for charging and PC connectivity, which in turn can provide mass storage, etc. and with OTG (and a USB hub?) all kinds of interesting peripherals become available.

I'm not so sure about Bluetooth; in fact, if wireless connectivity were an option, I'd leap to 802.11. Imagine a hand-held, pocketable device with access to cloud-based services like Mathematica or a Sage notebook server.

Then again, the complexity, the potential for bugs and the security issues are scary. Better to stick by the KISS principle. A do-everything calculator would be a nightmare, imho - it's better to have a relatively simple, reliable device with an orthogonal feature set that one can build on, than an over-complicated mess of special tricks that one can never remember.