Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 167
 good calculator but it can be improved October 7, 2009
forever blue (WPB, Florida)
I am an engineering student and I found this calculator very helpful. The only thing I would like to see be improved on this is the ability to for the ALG mode to be made similar to the TI-30s function, that is... if you set an operation (say SIN(15) + SQRT(15)) and you get an answer, but all of a sudden you forgot to add another number, then with the TI-30S all you can do is hit the up button and that same operation is still saved for correction or addition of extra operations (and you can do this a lot of times if you perform multiple operations, thus saving you time on double checking your work). This really comes in handy during a test since time is sensitive, and you're more likely to make some mistakes when entering the numbers especially if you have a complex operation involving fractions, square roots, etc. this is just one of the many issues on the ALG mode. For example the parenthesis appears twice thus you need to erase one of them to get it correct. Again, finding these corrections are time consuming, especially during a test.
I really appreciate the HP-35's ability to have room for more memory (from A-Z) which is awesome and the ability to display constants ( Avogadro's number, gravital constant, etc) but I think if they made the ALG notation much similar to the TI-30s or the Casio calculators, it would be a very powerful calculator. There is no doubt that in RPN mode is much more efficient but again the ALG mode needs more improvement. I hope they do something about it.
 HP 35s October 5, 2009
S. de Ridder (Portland, OR)
Coming from a 48G, this calculator is quite a step down and actually a little more difficult to use. I need this calculator for a test and went with the HP since I thought that it would be a breeze to learn because of my familiarity with the 48G. Other than the basic operations and RPN, the function layout is completely different. It's nice, but I expected HP to maintain some consistency to enhance usability.
 Nice hardware, (apart from A-F keys) needs new software September 23, 2009
R. Orre (Solna, Stockholm Sweden)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought the HP35s of one single reason, I'm a fan of the HP calculators, and have used them over 30 years. My last good calculator was the HP48GX, but when that got stolen I got a HP49G instead which I didn't like as much. I also have the HP15C which was great for its time, but of some reason that never got a follower despite that its financial cousin HP12C is still manufactured after 29 years.
Anyway, the HP35s has the right feeling of a HP calculator, regarding buttons and such, but about the software I don't know what to say. It's like they have hired a trainee, which has been told about the HP style of calculators but never had the chance to learn how to use them. Then they've asked the trainee to write up a completely new software for the HP35s, without looking at what has been done earlier. Then releasing this software without giving it to anyone used to HP calculators to test it, where the worst misses could have been fixed. The result is something that looks nice, but is hardly usable.
Regarding base conversions they should have looked upon HP16C, HP35s is not useful for base conversions at all. In hex mode, you can not type hex numbers directly, which would be the expected. Instead of making a nice line with A-F (printed) on keys at the top they have used H,I,J,K,M for entering A,B,C,D,E,F respectively.... In hex mode you have to tell it explicitly that the number you enter is hex, by Blue,Base,hex... the keys for inputting A-F gives syntax error without...
The basic operation of this calcuator is strange. You have the old X,Y,Z,T stack, but its behaviour is not at all the expected. For instance, to add 1 and 2 you type: 1 ENTER (now the stack suddenly shows 1 1, which means that one number now occupies X and Y...) then enter 2, but now you are not allowed to press ENTER again because if you do, then you will end up with X=2,Y=2,Z=1. The behaviour of the ENTER key must be the result of a bug, this can not be the intended operation. Directly after 2 you have to press +. That is, you can not simply just put the numbers on the stack, see the numbers and then press the operation.
One advantage of this calculator is its easy way to enter complex number, which would have been nice if it had worked as one would expect with ENTER....
The calculator further on has a strange behaviour on the DEL (<--) key. It does not erase X by dropping but by clearing X, which you do anyway if you start entering a new number. Non intuitive!
The calculator do handle complex numbers, but it has a strange behaviour. Like SQRT(-1), by entering 1 +/- SQRT gives SQRT(NEG), without telling that this would be a problem. You can neither type 1 +/- 0.5 y^x which gives INVALID y^x. You can not type it like -1i0 SQRT , because then it says INVALID DATA, you have to type it like, -1i0 ENTER 0.5 y^x, then you finally get the answer 0i1
I can only say that this is quite a strange machine. Not even in ALGebraic mode it works well for those used with simple algebraic calculators.
It is very easy to get SYNTAX ERROR, that persists until you have reached some way of reversing the last operation causing it, as CLEAR does not work. First time I got it I removed the batteries...
If someone is looking for a nice HP type RPN calculator for simple operations, I would say look further. OK, it is one more thing. When I bought it, my box was bundled with a 1 GB SD card, aha nice I thought, so it has SD card support, but... the SD card had nothing to do with the calculator and the machine has no I/O at all. If someone is modding this machine so new software can be installed, maybe some simple (serial?) way of transferring/storing programs could be added as well. If someone really needs a programmable machine I would recommend (the bigger) HP50G (or the older HP48GX, although 48 may be hard to get today).
This machine clearly needs new software. The hardware is nice, apart from possibly the A-F keys, and I don't know if this machine has a ROM that can be reprogrammed, but with new software this could become a great and robust RPN machine for simple calculations. If someone looks into this I guess that the software emulating HP42s (free42) could be adapted or possibly the software emulating the HP41, which is also available as open source. This machine could be great for schools for instance, when it's software has been fixed, as more advanced calculators may not be allowed during examinations for instance.
Also, the carrying case is the best one so far on any HP calculator. Regarding hardware and case I can really recommend this calculator. If you want a robust easy to use RPN calculator, then hack it! The CPU in this is claimed to be an 8bit SPLB31A, 8051-compatible, microcontroller from SUNPLUS which has serial IO, and also 8-bit DAC and 2 channel audio output apart from a few other I/O pins. It could become quite an interresting basis for cool projects.
 One of the best in a sea of medricority September 23, 2009
P. Smith (Wisconsin)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm an old engineer. I have owned many, many calculators over the years and have been searching for a worthy desktop calc for the last couple years. I've owned TI's and HP's. Most recently I purchased an HP33 and was terribly disappointed. When I started my search I came across the HP35s and decided to try it based on all the positive reviews.
What a pleasant surprise! Here is a calculator that is worthy of the HP name and tradition. The keys feel right, the display is very good and it has all the features I need or want. It reminds me of my dad's old HP's (he was an engineer too) and I think it's one of the best HP has come out with in many years.
If you're looking for an "old school" programmable and don't need graphing, this is the one to get. It's too bad the world has gone the way of the TI genre. Students today have no idea what a true calculator experience is like. Fortunately this model retains some of the classic functionality many of us remember.
Back in Business August 28, 2009
Geaux Tigers (louisiana)
After 27 years of daily use in engineering design, the HP 41CV I bought in college in 1982 finally died. After looking around for a calculator that had the same features and keyboard layout as the old trusty HP 41CV, I decided to purchase the HP35s. After a couple of weeks of use, I can say that HP has a calculator that operates almost exactly like the older version that I used for so long. The keyboard feel and the reverse polish notation (RPN) logic are what I am accustomed to with my old calculator. The only drawback is that the keypad buttons on the HP35s are not in the same location as on my old calculator, so it will take a little getting used to before I am proficient in using the new device. But if it lasts as long as my first and only HP product, then I'm sure that I figure out the slight changes and will be a pleased HP customer for years to come.
Showing reviews 6-10 of 167
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