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Tim Wessman · 06-16-2014, 02:55 PM

(06-16-2014 11:36 AM)HP67 Wrote: Agreed, but only if they fire the guy who made the Blue 50g first.

Goodbye then.

Have you actually seen or used the blue unit? Taste aside, it does not photograph well but is actually the most readable and useable of any units back to the 48s time frame and a LOT of customers have communicated similar. I am not trying to argue that is universal sentiment or that I thought blue was a good idea. However, it seems that the people most complaining about the color have never actually used one.

True, the blue can cause you to run screaming, but if it does then calculator wasn't meant for you. Same way a hot pink calculator might not be, yet they sure seems to sell rather well in certain areas. Rather, there was interest expressed for a bright color in one region and that was the color scheme they selected.

HP67 · 06-16-2014, 02:59 PM

I was afraid of that but then I thought, no, it couldn't be Tim! Nothing personal.

Yes, I have a Blue 50g. Yes, it looked neat in pics and the price was right so I bought it. But looking at it up close it's just awful. It is still in the package and will probably stay there.

Maro · 06-16-2014, 03:49 PM

(06-16-2014 02:55 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote: ... but is actually the most readable and useable of any units back to the 48s time frame and a LOT of customers have communicated similar.

Yes Tim, that's absolutely right. The 50g blue one is better readable than the black one, at least for me. I have both and I'm usually using the blue one for daily work because of very good readability.

All the more I can definitely not understand why HP uses such an awfully unreadable keyboard coloring for the Prime. Depending on the actual lighting conditions this is simply unacceptable (by the way, similar to the very poor RPN implementation)

everettr · 06-16-2014, 05:15 PM

(06-16-2014 02:55 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:
(06-16-2014 11:36 AM)HP67 Wrote: Agreed, but only if they fire the guy who made the Blue 50g first.

Goodbye then.

Have you actually seen or used the blue unit? Taste aside, it does not photograph well but is actually the most readable and useable of any units back to the 48s time frame and a LOT of customers have communicated similar. I am not trying to argue that is universal sentiment or that I thought blue was a good idea. However, it seems that the people most complaining about the color have never actually used one.

I like and use the blue 50g, and prefer its key labeling to several other HP schemes, an example being the one for the Prime.

eried · 06-16-2014, 06:28 PM

Blue 50g looks neat, Prime also looks badass, for me, it is just the orange in the alpha :/ I have 20/20 vision, no glasses, etc and I find them very hard to see. The chinese that mixed the ink just messed up the mixture.

**rprosperi** · 06-17-2014, 02:46 AM

(06-16-2014 02:55 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote: Have you actually seen or used the blue unit? Taste aside, it does not photograph well but is actually the most readable and useable of any units back to the 48s time frame and a LOT of customers have communicated similar

I have to agree with Tim. Though the bright blue face and trim is a matter of taste (not mine btw), I find the keyboard labeling contrast much easier to read overall, as compared to a 'normal' 50g. As Tim points out, for some odd reason (no doubt discovered far too late) the Blue 50g keyboard consistently photographs poorly.

Ironically, of all the models that share this common case design, the best color scheme for clarity and contrast, and at least for my taste, color selection, is the HP-48gII, likely the poorest selling one of the family. The 39GS is by far the best contrast of all of them, but since it's only black on white with 1 shift key, it really can't be compared to machines with multiple shifts, colors, etc.

cutterjohn · 06-17-2014, 07:51 PM

(06-16-2014 03:49 PM)Maro Wrote:
(06-16-2014 02:55 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote: ... but is actually the most readable and useable of any units back to the 48s time frame and a LOT of customers have communicated similar.

Yes Tim, that's absolutely right. The 50g blue one is better readable than the black one, at least for me. I have both and I'm usually using the blue one for daily work because of very good readability.

All the more I can definitely not understand why HP uses such an awfully unreadable keyboard coloring for the Prime. Depending on the actual lighting conditions this is simply unacceptable (by the way, similar to the very poor RPN implementation)

I just took a quick look to see if I could buy a blue 50g (should buy a backup unit anyways), but nothing but black turned up on amazon, ebay, or the hp store(EXPENSIVE by c. +$60, or $130 v. $75 everywhere else... so I'll probably end up buying a 2nd black one.

Anyways, the black one is perfectly readable to me and certainly INFINITELY better in ANY lighting condition than the prime(whomever chose and "tested" that color scheme needs to be fired or shipped off to oh, the aleutian islands maybe), 2nd worst is the 49g which is just godawful fugly.

Steve Simpkin · 06-17-2014, 09:50 PM

(06-17-2014 07:51 PM)cutterjohn Wrote: I just took a quick look to see if I could buy a blue 50g (should buy a backup unit anyways), but nothing but black turned up on amazon, ebay, or the hp store(EXPENSIVE by c. +$60, or $130 v. $75 everywhere else... so I'll probably end up buying a 2nd black one.

I believe the Blue HP 50G was primarily intended for the Latin America market. It also appears to have been discontinued around 2011-2012.
http://www.thecalculatorstore.com/Manual...HP50g-Blue

jebem · (This post was last modified: 06-18-2014 05:05 AM by jebem.)

(06-17-2014 09:50 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:
(06-17-2014 07:51 PM)cutterjohn Wrote: I just took a quick look to see if I could buy a blue 50g (should buy a backup unit anyways), but nothing but black turned up on amazon, ebay, or the hp store(EXPENSIVE by c. +$60, or $130 v. $75 everywhere else... so I'll probably end up buying a 2nd black one.

I believe the Blue HP 50G was primarily intended for the Latin America market. It also appears to have been discontinued around 2011-2012.
http://www.thecalculatorstore.com/Manual...HP50g-Blue

The TAS Spain and Germany sites have a number of blue 50G for sell new in the box.

mcjtom · 08-05-2014, 10:15 AM

Has there ever been any consideration given to keys back illumination?

Tim Wessman · 08-05-2014, 10:10 PM

There are several challenges to this I see right away.

1) Cost. Since this isn't a "standard" PC type key economy of scale wouldn't kick in and it would be quite expensive due to being unique and custom. I remember when the first PC lighted keys came out and it was quite an expensive upgrade.

2) I don't think I've seen different color lighting. Basically, that would make the whole key be a single color which would make shift/alpha/main functions more difficult to distinguish possibly? (yeah, nobody please say "but they already are with the crappy color" :-) )

3) You will need a light to read a book/see a paper. I think for most of the time working on things in the dark isn't really a true possibility so...

TW

CR Haeger · (This post was last modified: 08-12-2014 09:41 AM by CR Haeger.)

Glow in the dark keys. Not free but can be "charged" up by any temporary light source.

Or perhaps a prism at base of display that casts small amount of light towards keys below.

If you use either buy me a beer.

Gerald H · 08-13-2014, 06:56 PM

(06-16-2014 03:49 PM)Maro Wrote:
(06-16-2014 02:55 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote: ... but is actually the most readable and useable of any units back to the 48s time frame and a LOT of customers have communicated similar.

Yes Tim, that's absolutely right. The 50g blue one is better readable than the black one, at least for me. I have both and I'm usually using the blue one for daily work because of very good readability.

All the more I can definitely not understand why HP uses such an awfully unreadable keyboard coloring for the Prime. Depending on the actual lighting conditions this is simply unacceptable (by the way, similar to the very poor RPN implementation)

The blue 50G is the best readable HP keyboard since ... well certainly clearer than the 41c.

Fortunately most people are idiots & feel the colour scheme of the blue 50G childish & the calc therefore less reliable or proficient, resulting in a price recuction over the black model of about 20% in Germany. Buy them while you can!

walter b · 08-17-2014, 04:42 PM

(08-05-2014 10:15 AM)mcjtom Wrote: Has there ever been any consideration given to keys back illumination?

(08-12-2014 09:39 AM)CR Haeger Wrote: Glow in the dark keys. Not free but can be "charged" up by any temporary light source.

Or perhaps a prism at base of display that casts small amount of light towards keys below.

Argggh - it all started with a bad choice of colors and now there are attempt to 'optimize' a crappy surface by adding gimmicks noone needs. No, please: back to start, HP, and take the proper background for the colors you've picked.

d:-/

walter b · 08-17-2014, 05:13 PM

Thanks for pointing us to that link. Seems that topic has quite a bit of history.

d:-)

walter b · 08-17-2014, 05:19 PM

(01-19-2014 08:54 PM)patrice Wrote: I also heard that orange/blue was chosen because it is a traditional HP color scheme.
The one that did it just forgot that the original color scheme was orange on black and blue on black.

You really hit the nail on its head. Smile

One of the best statements in this long thread IMHO.

d:-)

CR Haeger · 08-18-2014, 03:16 AM

(08-17-2014 04:42 PM)walter b Wrote:
(08-05-2014 10:15 AM)mcjtom Wrote: Has there ever been any consideration given to keys back illumination?

(08-12-2014 09:39 AM)CR Haeger Wrote: Glow in the dark keys. Not free but can be "charged" up by any temporary light source.

Or perhaps a prism at base of display that casts small amount of light towards keys below.

Argggh - it all started with a bad choice of colors and now there are attempt to 'optimize' a crappy surface by adding gimmicks noone needs. No, please: back to start, HP, and take the proper background for the colors you've picked.

d

Thanks but I would quite like to have the ability to use both the screen and keyboard in dimly lit situations. This seems optimized for smart phones and blackberries in the past. I would like this even if the prime was more legible in daylight.

oldhpfan · 09-01-2014, 06:37 AM

I just checked with my 83 year old father and he has no problem reading the keys, but then since his surgery he has better eye sight than I do Sad

. Still I'm taking the plunge.

In the past I've tended to customize the keys I use most and the Prime seems to have an easy way to remap the keyboard. I do wish there were overlays that I could write on like some of the older calcs (don't remember the numbers off hand, I go back to the HP-25 as my first then a 67 and there have been a lot since then).

Anyone with a 3d printer think of designing an overlay (are there transparent plastics for 3d printers? haven't looked at them for awhile)? If so have you shared the file so maybe I could find someone willing to print one? The idea of sticking labels on doesn't appeal (no pun) to me.

I got the Prime in my shopping cart, now I just need to buy it.

PANAMATIK · 10-14-2014, 10:06 PM

Since HP didnt offer a solution till now for this really bad key color problem, I suggest to start a crowd funding to produce a set of high contrast keys by ourselves, the Prime customers, one in white with darker orange and blue colors, another set as dark keys with light orange and blue colors like now. We could show HP that it is possible to achieve customers needs. I would pay up to 20$ for a new key set if available. Does anybody want to start this initiative? I bought my Prime even after having read about a lot of firmware bugs, because I was believing that there will be better firmware in the future, which indeed came true, at least partially. But the biggest flaw of this calculator design cant be fixed by an electrical update. But it needs to be fixed. If HP cannot do it, perhaps we can do it.

DrDevinci · 10-15-2014, 12:23 AM

(10-14-2014 10:06 PM)PANAMATIK Wrote: Since HP didnt offer a solution till now for this really bad key color problem, I suggest to start a crowd funding to produce a set of high contrast keys by ourselves, the Prime customers, one in white with darker orange and blue colors, another set as dark keys with light orange and blue colors like now. We could show HP that it is possible to achieve customers needs. I would pay up to 20$ for a new key set if available. Does anybody want to start this initiative? I bought my Prime even after having read about a lot of firmware bugs, because I was believing that there will be better firmware in the future, which indeed came true, at least partially. But the biggest flaw of this calculator design cant be fixed by an electrical update. But it needs to be fixed. If HP cannot do it, perhaps we can do it.

A set of labels can work wonders. - See previous post #67 on subject in this thread.