[mschaef]

> it must have been easier, even at the time, to just use a PC (in the wider sense, not just IBM PC and clones).

Agreed.

It was probably a tradition dating back to the fact that HP did the original pocket calculator, but even through to the 48's, HP did literally all of the engineering. Everything from the physical design of the device down to design and fabrication of the custom CPU and other semiconductors. There was just no way that business model was going to stay competitive with PCs over time.

(While I'm reminiscing, however, I would've loved to see the RPL software running on a machine based on the HP100LX chassis and a faster CPU... Much bigger display, a workable clamshell design, and RS232/IRDA/PCMCIA expansion.)