Pros: The best engineering tool that fits into your pocket
Cons: I hear the screens used in the HP's are not as robust as the TI's
Recommended: Yes

The HP 48G is the greatest thing to happen for engineers since the first pocket calculators replaced slide rules. I got mine for Christmas my sophomore year of college and I really wanted to start all over because of the huge benefit I would it to be. I would recommend this to anyone considering to go to school for any technical field. I have told all my friends, neighbors and relatives that are still in high school to think about using an HP 48G. The earlier you begin to use it, the better you can use it. I really believe that if I had one of these calculators in high school I would have able to solve problems quicker and easier and in turn been able to learn more. It removes a lot of frustrating fumbling through books for tables and allows better understanding of complex problems. One of the best things about the HP 48G is that more then likely, you can never outgrow it.

I requested an HP 48G for Christmas after seeing other engineering students use them and hearing all the good things said about them. I was replacing a TI 85 graphing calculator that I thought was the greatest thing in the world in high school. It took a little bit of time to become accustomed to the RPN interface, but once I got the hang of it, it became second nature. I feel that RPN really is the easiest way to pound out long formulas. Now I often have trouble using simple four function calculators because of how illogical I have come to find them.

I really can't think of a single thing I hate about the HP 48G. There is no ongoing maintenance cost involved with owning it.