4 ms·

In my opinion, peak calculator was Hp 11c https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp11c.htm https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp11c.htm After that nothing significant was added. Oh!

In my opinion, peak calculator was Hp 11c https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp11c.htm https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp11c.htm After that nothing significant was added. Oh! I see now that they started manufacturing 15c again in 2023! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-15C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-15C

agumonkey 3y ago
Time to resurrect the hp-01a https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp01.htm https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp01.htm
wiredfool 3y ago
No, the 28s was the peak. Showing the stack is a huge ui win.
- fifilura 3y ago
  Good point, I have owned both and still use my 28s and look dearly upon it when I bring it up (and my younger colleagues smile at me like - well you know the type of smile) The details may be discussed (indefinetely). There may even be earlier versions than 11c that has the similar feature set but the longevity of the model and the build quality of the model says it all i think.
zoky 3y ago
You’ve obviously never used an HP 48GX. An RPN graphing calculator, that actually had a real usable programming language onboard, and included communications (serial and IR) and expandability, in 1993? And it could function as a TV remote to boot? I’d still use mine today if I hadn’t accidentally smashed the screen. I bought a 49G+ as a replacement to use in college, but it just… wasn’t as good. Despite theoretically being much more powerful and having more features, it felt like plasticky garbage and was never really a joy to use the same way the 48 was.
- fifilura 3y ago
  Yeah but then you may as well use a computer. The acid test here - do they still sell 48gx? Technically they dont sell 11c anymore but 15c looks similar enough count as the same to me (someone who has the time to read the fine print may correct me).
  - zubiaur 3y ago
    They sell the HP prime, which is in many ways an evolution the the 48GX, and for some markets, they still sell the 50G, which is even closer to the 48. All of them are fantastic. And once on RPN, it's hard to go back.
  - zoky 3y ago
    You couldn’t use a computer on standardized testing. The HP48 series had so much built-in functionality that they arguably shouldn’t have been allowed. For myself, a perennially shitty and unmotivated math student in high school, the SAT was really a test of how quickly I could use my HP48—and I practically aced it. The calculator was just that good. As mentioned in another reply, HP does still sell a successor to the HP48 series. But regardless, I don’t think determining the quality of a calculator based on the business decisions of a company known for its persistently and astonishingly terrible corporate choices really makes a whole lot of sense…
- uticus 3y ago
  Had a 48G+, was dog slow. There were 3rd party replacements for the main screen (stack) written that were way faster. But yeah it was a delight to use otherwise esp compared to TI-xx
tragomaskhalos 3y ago
Dismayed to learn that it's now virtually impossible to obtain an RPN calculator of any sort. Swiss Micros make HP clones but for the more casual user their prices are pretty prohibitive when compared to how 'mainstream' calculator prices have tumbled.
- fifilura 3y ago
  When I dont have my hp 28s with me I use realcalc on my android phone. But yeah it is not the same thing obviously. RPN rules for sure.
- vr46 3y ago
  Isn’t the HP35 around for about €50? EDIT: OMFG no and look at the prices
criddell 3y ago
The 15C is a collector's edition. It's not going to be in production for long. I bought one and they people who made it (Moravia) did a great job.
seanhunter 3y ago
HP15C is amazing but so is the HP42S[1] and HP35S, with the 42S in particular considered by some people to be the best scientific calculator ever made. I have an HP35S which is great. I also have a swiss micros DM42[2] which is an absolutely fantastic calculator based on the Free42[3] opensource emulator. It's much more powerful than the HP42S while remaining 100% compatible[4]. The only downside is the keys are quite a lot stiffer than the HP42S. For finance specifically the HP12C is the mac daddy. I have two of them and they're completely fantastic. They took me through an 8 year finance career and even though they are 20 years old now they are both still on their original battery. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-42S https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-42S [2] https://www.swissmicros.com/product/dm42 https://www.swissmicros.com/product/dm42 [3] https://thomasokken.com/free42/ https://thomasokken.com/free42/ [4] The processor is much much more powerful and it has 1000s of times the memory and essentially unlimited stack space. The instructionset is slightly expanded in a few useful and thoughtful ways. And it has a USB connection so you can upload and download. But original HP42 programs run on it unaltered.

agumonkey 3y ago

Time to resurrect the hp-01a https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp01.htm https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp01.htm

wiredfool 3y ago

No, the 28s was the peak. Showing the stack is a huge ui win.

fifilura 3y ago
Good point, I have owned both and still use my 28s and look dearly upon it when I bring it up (and my younger colleagues smile at me like - well you know the type of smile) The details may be discussed (indefinetely). There may even be earlier versions than 11c that has the similar feature set but the longevity of the model and the build quality of the model says it all i think.

zoky 3y ago

You’ve obviously never used an HP 48GX. An RPN graphing calculator, that actually had a real usable programming language onboard, and included communications (serial and IR) and expandability, in 1993? And it could function as a TV remote to boot? I’d still use mine today if I hadn’t accidentally smashed the screen. I bought a 49G+ as a replacement to use in college, but it just… wasn’t as good. Despite theoretically being much more powerful and having more features, it felt like plasticky garbage and was never really a joy to use the same way the 48 was.

fifilura 3y ago
Yeah but then you may as well use a computer. The acid test here - do they still sell 48gx? Technically they dont sell 11c anymore but 15c looks similar enough count as the same to me (someone who has the time to read the fine print may correct me).
- zubiaur 3y ago
  They sell the HP prime, which is in many ways an evolution the the 48GX, and for some markets, they still sell the 50G, which is even closer to the 48. All of them are fantastic. And once on RPN, it's hard to go back.
- zoky 3y ago
  You couldn’t use a computer on standardized testing. The HP48 series had so much built-in functionality that they arguably shouldn’t have been allowed. For myself, a perennially shitty and unmotivated math student in high school, the SAT was really a test of how quickly I could use my HP48—and I practically aced it. The calculator was just that good. As mentioned in another reply, HP does still sell a successor to the HP48 series. But regardless, I don’t think determining the quality of a calculator based on the business decisions of a company known for its persistently and astonishingly terrible corporate choices really makes a whole lot of sense…
uticus 3y ago
Had a 48G+, was dog slow. There were 3rd party replacements for the main screen (stack) written that were way faster. But yeah it was a delight to use otherwise esp compared to TI-xx

tragomaskhalos 3y ago

Dismayed to learn that it's now virtually impossible to obtain an RPN calculator of any sort. Swiss Micros make HP clones but for the more casual user their prices are pretty prohibitive when compared to how 'mainstream' calculator prices have tumbled.

fifilura 3y ago
When I dont have my hp 28s with me I use realcalc on my android phone. But yeah it is not the same thing obviously. RPN rules for sure.
vr46 3y ago
Isn’t the HP35 around for about €50? EDIT: OMFG no and look at the prices

criddell 3y ago

The 15C is a collector's edition. It's not going to be in production for long. I bought one and they people who made it (Moravia) did a great job.

seanhunter 3y ago

HP15C is amazing but so is the HP42S[1] and HP35S, with the 42S in particular considered by some people to be the best scientific calculator ever made. I have an HP35S which is great. I also have a swiss micros DM42[2] which is an absolutely fantastic calculator based on the Free42[3] opensource emulator. It's much more powerful than the HP42S while remaining 100% compatible[4]. The only downside is the keys are quite a lot stiffer than the HP42S. For finance specifically the HP12C is the mac daddy. I have two of them and they're completely fantastic. They took me through an 8 year finance career and even though they are 20 years old now they are both still on their original battery. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-42S https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-42S [2] https://www.swissmicros.com/product/dm42 https://www.swissmicros.com/product/dm42 [3] https://thomasokken.com/free42/ https://thomasokken.com/free42/ [4] The processor is much much more powerful and it has 1000s of times the memory and essentially unlimited stack space. The instructionset is slightly expanded in a few useful and thoughtful ways. And it has a USB connection so you can upload and download. But original HP42 programs run on it unaltered.