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Showing reviews 16-20 of 167
 Best RPN Calculator available but it is no HP 15C August 7, 2009
Mahlers2nd
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Back in grad school, I was taking tons of math, statistics and CS classes which required a lot of number crunching. The 15C was THE recommended calculator back in the day because once you got used to using RPN, it was so much more efficient for entering strings of numbers and calculating sample statistics etc.
Over the course of the 80s, I bought 3 15Cs and to this day, they all still work. However, the "3" is starting to go out on one of them and I live in fear of their not being serviceable any longer.
I tried the 12C because it has the same general layout of the 15C but it is a sad substitute. It does not have all the functions I need (like permutations and combinations ) so it really isn't suitable for heavy-duty math/statistics.
I tried the standard TI-84 graphing calculator but I'm so accustomed to RPN that I just can't use it.
I decided to give the 35S a try. I still prefer the 15C in terms of layout -- its what I'm used to. However, this is a reasonable replacement. It is obviously a more vertical layout. The core functions are concentrated on and below the Enter key row. This corresponds to the right of the Enter key on the 12C and 16C. As a result, the usability impact of the different layout is minimized.
It has a lot more functionality than I need but the "business versions" of HP's line just don't have the statistical functions that I need (counting functions etc). I don't see myself needing the programming functionality because if I need to program anything, I'm going to do it via Excel or SAS.
The build quality is not up to par with the 12C or the old 15Cs. However, it feels more solid than the TI line. The buttons are more "satisfying" than the TI-54 -- nice distinct "click" rather than the mushy spongy feeling. The calculator is plastic instead of the more solid metal case of even the modern day 12Cs. The case is a zipper which isn't as quick to "whip out" and use as the standard sleeve. However, it isn't likely to break like the TI "slider cover" so from that perspective, it is still a step above the TI.
The design is kind of clunky in that several "simple" things require a lot more keystrokes than seems to be reasonable. For example, just to turn the calculator off, you have to use 2 keystrokes. Why not just have a simple toggle like nearly every other calculator you use? Because the calculator shows 2 lines instead of just one, I find myself wanting to clear the stack after each set of operations to make sure I don't any old values lying around that could impact the next problem. To clear the entire stack, you have to hit a sequence of 5 buttons. This is all rather ironic considering the point of RPN is to minimize keystrokes!
But since this is the best game in town, I'm stocking up for that dark day when my 15Cs no longer function.
I will never truly be happy until HP brings back the 15C (why do they still have the 12C yet not the 15C? Don't they see the auctions where 25-year-old 15Cs consistently sell for over three hundred bucks? But until then, this will get me through my day...
[NCJAR]
 Just OK - will have to do until a "real" HP calculator comes along August 7, 2009
EDW (NJ, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've owned many HP calculators in the past. My first was an HP21 won in a high school engineering project (yes, I'm getting old). The NiCd batteries won't hold much of a charge anymore, but that calculator is still working! Well, the '5' key doesn't respond and one of the display segments doesn't light, but everything else is operational. I took my HP21 apart once - built like a tank, gold plated glass epoxy PCB, nice connections everywhere, amazing.
When I went back to college I needed something to get me through engineering math, so I bought an HP34C, which could do numerical integration and solve for roots. I really liked that calculator, but after a couple of years the display started dropping segments, so I took it apart to see what was up. Inside was the strangest and lamest construction I've ever seen in an electronic device. The chips were held in a plastic frame, and the PC traces were printed on a plastic padded pillow of sorts. The chips weren't soldered to the PC pillow, only pressed up against it for contact. Well, the obvious gas tight issues ensued, and corrosion got the best of that calculator. Haven't seen it around lately, not sure what I did with it.
Years later on the job (QC inspector) I bought an HP11C. Very nice calculator, I loved the low power LCD and the landscape form factor of the case. It dropped out of my pocket once in a while, and after maybe 3 years refused to turn on. I took it apart but didn't see any obvious issues. Sadly, into the trash it went.
I went back to college and initially bought an HP32SII, which I really liked, but it wasn't powerful enough for my engineering classes, so I bought an HP48S. The introduction at that point of algebraic entry of formulas was kind of icky, but that calculator got me through 5 years of very intense math. It wasn't nearly as easy to program as the earlier HPs, and the display response was rather slow, but it made up for it by doing complex numbers, matrices, and other things I needed then (and never need now on the job, go figure). About a year or so out of college the HP48S refused to respond to the ON key. I took it apart, but ended up destroying it in the process. Wasn't too impressed with the construction, lots of twisted metal tabs and melted plastic posts holding things together, no real way of fixing it at all. That one very reluctantly went into the trash.
At work I found another HP32SII that someone had spilled coffee on and abandoned. I took it apart and found the same twisted metal tabs and melted plastic posts holding things together. After I cleaned it up it and reassembled it it started working, but some of the outer keys wouldn't work without twisting the case. Some padding between the case bottom and the guts fixed this, and that calculator served me well for 8 years or so.
A while back I found the HP50g on Amazon and ordered it. Kept it more than a year, but never really warmed up to it or used it much. Really just too algebraic for me, didn't like the buttons or the layout, and by that point I didn't really need the graphing. The processor seemed slow - it was really a huge turn-off all around. So I sold it used and started looking again.
By this point HP had released the HP35s, but the reviews scared me. Then BOTH of my HP32SIIs started crapping out, and, out of desperation, I ordered the HP35s. It is a significant step above the HP50g in terms of "HP-calculator-goodness" but has a long way to go. The buttons feel close (no cigar) to the original HP buttons, but you can tell that the paint will wear off at some point. The case is rather nice, but the zipper pulls are huge and clanky, and the zipper itself is a bit difficult to operate, so I seldom zip it closed. Two lithium coin cells are OK, but I would prefer a single cell with better power management. The processor in this thing feels very underpowered, maybe only 10x faster than my original HP21! I guess the speed is adequate though. The key layout is poorer than any other "real" (i.e. algebra-less) HP calculator I've owned, with many things I never use as the main function, and other things I use a lot either shifted or in a menu. The number base conversion feels really tacked on and awkward, which is a total shame as I use this feature often. The alphanumerics seem like an afterthought as well and very poorly integrated.
HP, if you're reading this, here is what I recommend:
1. Drop all algebraic stuff and go back to pure RPN. The algebraic stuff just clutters up the keyboard with useless things I will never use.
2. Drop the pretty equation entry (more algebraic stuff). Symbolic entry on functional stack machine makes zero sense.
3. Build them so they last, e.g. molded-into-the-key function labels, glass epoxy PWBs, real screws, no pressure-based connections, etc.
4. Ask the HP calculator using community what they would like in various calculators spread over a well defined tiering - I'm sure the users would be a gold mine in this regard. Better do this soon, we are all aging out here.
There is a very loyal following out here just waiting for what you could do in the past, but for some reason you've lost it over the years. You guys were the freaking calculator kings, no one could touch you with those early models. We're not really asking for anything new, just what you used to be able to do. Please, I'm begging you.
I'm kind of wondering if HP lost all the know-how on how to even make their old stuff, kind of like how the plans to the Saturn V booster were destroyed. Look - ANYONE! - just replicate what HP used to do and you will have a huge market just waiting for you! We all know it can be done, a bunch of smart guys did it like 30 years ago...
So close to being very good July 18, 2009
Reviewer Guy
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If only HP had included the ability to use alpha strings for program labels and variables. So close...
Some type of I/O would have been useful to save programs off the calculator. Couldn't they have included a USB mini setup. I would have paid for it. Now, all that programming work is lost eventually unless you transcribe it manually. So close...
 DO NOT BUY this poorly designed calculator July 15, 2009
S. A. Corning (Gurnee, IL USA)
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
You will be very sorry if you buy this calculator.
You will be shocked at how poorly HP designed this calculator.
I still find the 32SII to be the best general use calculator they ever made. Although this would be a great calculator for advanced features, really how often are you going to need to perform them, versus just doing basic calculations?
Some of the low-lights:
- Confusing two lines in RPN mode, (unable to make one line)
- Several steps to clear both lines instead of simple "clear all" button
- Important, often used keys all over the keypad
- There is nothing intuitive or clever about this calculator... constant syntax errors in the Algebra mode, and then just try clearing.
- I actually broke a pair of scissors trying to cut open the plastic blisterpack, (I thought Amazon was going green?).
- Instead of a nice slip on case, you get this giant zippered holder
- You get two giant batteries that are very hard to put in place
- instead of an instruction book, you get a little booklet to show you all of the confusing key sequences you will probably never use.
(the instruction book is on disk which is not very portable).
The main problem is the HP engineers took over to try and make a very powerful computer, that makes everyday use very frustrating.
Note: I was trying this calculator since they did the same thing with the financial business calculator.
HP should have have had a "real" product designer and some average users design the interface.
No wonder HP scientific calculators are not found in stores!
 After two years, still going strong July 13, 2009
lindguini (Los Angeles, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been using the HP 35s for nearly two years since its introduction in 2007. Even though the HP 35s wasn't developed by the famed HP Corvallis group (the ones responsible for the classic HP RPN calculators from the 70's through the 90's), it is, by any measure, a machine worthy of consideration by diehard HP fans. I've been using various HP RPN calculators for over 20 years and I have been very pleased with the quality and features of the 35s (it's a major improvement over the quirky HP 33s). The 35s successfully reincarnates the "look and feel" of the classic HP calculators which had essentially disappeared from recent HP offerings.
PROS:
The look and feel of the 35s is spot on. Clearly, HP has responded to customer requests to stop fixing what isn't broken and re-introduce a modern RPN calculator with the classic (and nearly perfect) design elements implemented by the Corvallis engineers decades ago.
The 35s is very well-built with excellent attention to detail, good crisp key clicks (similar to the older HP's), and clearly marked, beveled keys. The 35s keys are located in the classic HP layout with a double-wide ENTER key prominently placed in the middle of the keyboard. HP has also added a four-way selector pad for quick access while scrolling menus. The chocolate brown/gray color scheme and grain of the solid plastic body remind me of the same details on my older HP 42s and HP 10c. Overall, the appearance and feel of the calculator is high quality and it is pleasantly lightweight, as well. It may not have the heft of the older units like the 42s, but single-chip calculator processors and button cell batteries have replaced the bulkier, discrete component solutions in the old handheld calculators. In short, the older calculators were heavy due to the technology available at the time and not because HP wanted them to be heavy for quality's sake. The 35s also includes an excellent User's Manual (very similar to the old HP 32SII manual) and a very nice, zippered, semi-rigid case. A remarkable value for $50 or less.
CONS:
None that have revealed themselves in two years of operation. Both the calculator and its case have proven to be rugged and reliable.
OVERALL:
The 35s represents the best effort-to-date by HP to recapture some market share for their RPN machines. There is no substitute for the calculating efficiency of RPN and I hope that new generations of calculator users are discovering the benefit of the HP designs. Any professional scientist or engineer always keeps a trusty calculator close-at-hand for quick work in the office or field and the 35s fits the bill. The HP 35s has finally (and properly) recaptured the efficient functionality of the classic calculators that made HP famous.
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