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Omnimaga => News => Topic started by: Adriweb on August 09, 2013, 08:14:52 am

Title: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: Adriweb on August 09, 2013, 08:14:52 am
Hi everyone,

Unlike the fx-CP400 which gave us a hard time (easy when you know the trick... ;) ), the HP Prime opens quite "easily" and reveals us its hardware:

(http://tiplanet.org/forum/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=194&image_id=2802) (http://tiplanet.org/forum/gallery/image_page.php?image_id=2802)

We notice the references which were already at the back of our prototype: EA656MB for the motherboard and EA656KB for the keyboard and power board.

They include:
In short, a fairly standard and simple architecture around three main distinct chips: RAM/ROM CPU.

Let’s now look at the details ;)

Processor :
RAM Memory :
Flash Memory :
Screen : 
Battery :

 
In short, only documented and standard chips instead of proprietary ones or hidden in an ASIC, which is a nice change from the TI-Nspire or even more from the fx-CP400 :)

This calculator is positioning itself as a potential competitor to the TI-Nspire CX, as we wrote in our hands-on review (http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12805) (Omni topic (http://ourl.ca/19350)) and the hardware confirms this idea, despite a slight weakness in the RAM amount.
In fact, some people already think of a Prime emulator on the Nspire and a Nspire one on the Prime, given the similar architecture! (But first, the machine will have to be open to native development ;) )

You can also compare the technical specs of the CX and the Prime with our comparator :
http://tiplanet.org/forum/compare.php?nspirecxcas,prime (http://tiplanet.org/forum/compare.php?nspirecxcas,prime)


See you later :)

Source : http://tiplanet.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=12821&lang=en
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: Streetwalrus on August 09, 2013, 08:55:21 am
Quote from: adriweb on August 09, 2013, 08:14:52 am
Core : ARM926EJ-S
Exactly the same as the Nspire. This means that it'll be easy to port Nspire ASM programs to the Prime (only hardware differences i.e. keyboard and LCD will have to be fixed). :D And also even write a game for both platforms at the same time.
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: pimathbrainiac on August 09, 2013, 09:37:14 am
I really hope the price point is less than the CX, the 84 C, the 84, and the PRISM. If HP can add some good competition to the mass market, then we might just get our calcs down under $100 MSRP.
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: Adriweb on August 09, 2013, 09:41:49 am
Hmm sorry :x The price is set to be about 155 $/€
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: pimathbrainiac on August 09, 2013, 09:43:57 am
Darn it. I think it's a bit high to compete with the CX (which MSRP's at $129, I think).

That said, it's right about where the ti-89 is (I think). maybe it's trying to compete in the college market and not the HS market...
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: Adriweb on August 09, 2013, 11:27:02 am
Quote from: pimathbrainiac on August 09, 2013, 09:43:57 am
Darn it. I think it's a bit high to compete with the CX (which MSRP's at $129, I think).
Eh... It's much higher here...
So who knows how the price can be outside of Europe for the Prime if they really want to compete hard.
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: pimathbrainiac on August 09, 2013, 11:34:05 am
Anyway, my parents won't let me buy any new calcs with my own money, so if/when they'll let me, it's going to be a tough choice as to which calc I should buy.
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: timwessman on August 09, 2013, 03:53:35 pm
Quote from: pimathbrainiac on August 09, 2013, 11:34:05 am
Anyway, my parents won't let me buy any new calcs with my own money, so if/when they'll let me, it's going to be a tough choice as to which calc I should buy.

Well, you should tell them my story. :-)

I was known in high school as the calculator guy. I was the one sitting there writing programs and knew everything about them. Even though I hated TI calcs with a passion and only was an HP only guy, the teachers still came to me with questions on things. I wrote some comparison documents, and some other things.

In school, I started a business with a land surveyor using the 50g as the main cpu/internal guts. I did all the software on it. (http://stakemill.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/precision-survey-solutions-dc50-data-collectors/). We did a few business plan competitions. Took home money from several of them including Fortune Small Business (http://marriottschool.byu.edu/cet/news/article?id=307, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2006/11/01/8391418/), and Rice University.

Did that for about 2 years or so until HP hired me in the calc group. Been here almost 5 years now.

Also, I met my wife due to one of those comparison documents I mentioned. Her dad was looking for a calculator for his daughter who was starting engineering courses. Her dad and I kept in touch, and later on I met her and we now have 2 kids.  :-)

Learning programming on memory restricted, slower devices gives you an amazing capability and flexibility missing from many professional software developers. You gain an understanding of how and why things work in a way many new developers never get. Granted, if you do nothing but web stuff it may not be incredibly useful, but in my time here at HP I've definitely seen how that start I had has made me much more flexible and able to jump in on all types of tasks and be productive much quicker even in areas I've not had experience with before.

TW
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: pimathbrainiac on August 09, 2013, 03:57:31 pm
To be better explained, I program my 84 and 89 in class, and they want me to not be distracted. Quite frankly, they're right on that one, but it still doesn't keep me from wanting those calcs.
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: Juju on August 10, 2013, 01:46:37 am
Yup, the specs seems eerily similar to the Nspire's but with more memory, so if HP opens up native development without too much hassle kinda like Casio (and unlike TI), that would be pretty awesome.
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: Lionel Debroux on August 10, 2013, 02:27:32 am
Quote
but with more memory
Compared to the CX, twice the amount of NAND Flash, but half the amount of RAM, which is sad...

Quote
so if HP opens up native development without too much hassle kinda like Casio (and unlike TI), that would be pretty awesome.
Yeah.

TI is far too entrenched in the US education system for anyone else to make a significant dent into the US education market, but the Prime is bound to gain following among calculator enthusiasts, especially if native code programming is reasonably accessible.
The Prime has a window of opportunity over the next school season, as TI didn't release an upgrade to the Nspire series, and the Casio fx-CP400 flat out sucks on hardware and software characteristics while being astonishingly expensive. After that, I guess that the "CX Premium", as it appeared through an unrelated event during a TI webinar, will hit the market. Its hardware specs / software abilities had better be a generation above the Prime's (Cortex-A5 or -A7, 128+MB RAM, etc.)...
Title: Re: HP Prime Hardware Details (of a DVT Prototype)
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on August 10, 2013, 02:31:49 am
Quote from: Lionel Debroux on August 10, 2013, 02:27:32 am
Quote
but with more memory
Compared to the CX, twice the amount of NAND Flash, but half the amount of RAM, which is sad...

Quote
so if HP opens up native development without too much hassle kinda like Casio (and unlike TI), that would be pretty awesome.
Yeah.

TI is far too entrenched in the US education system for anyone else to make a significant dent into the US education market, but the Prime is bound to gain following among calculator enthusiasts, especially if native code programming is reasonably accessible.
Also the fact that BASIC is so fast might get even more people interested since many people here on Omni prefer BASIC to ASM/C due to finding it easier to code for, but are repelled by the slow speed of TI-84+ BASIC and especially Casio BASIC.