Why Did You Choose HP?

I originally chose HP in the days of the introduction of the 41c due
to the overall feel and reliability of the unit. It just felt to me
to be more solid and well made than the TI competition, in large part
due to the HP keyboard with the tactile feedback. It helped that
there was a good calculator specialty store in San Francisco at the
time that handled HP as their primary line. They normally had the
full line of calculators and accessories in stock.

Another engineer I know still carries an HP 11c. He bought his due to
"being tired of having to replace my failed TI calculator every year
or two" per his quote. He also notes it discourages theft at work due
to people unfamiliar with RPN not being able to figure out how to work
it.

A third is a surveyor who still swears by his 41cx and 11c units due
to their reliability and ability to do the job.

At the time I got into HP remember that most algebraic scientific
calculators had a limit on parenthesis nesting depth that made the RPN
stack a truly competitive and worthwhile alternative. With fast
processors and cheap memory this is no longer true.

One thing mentioned by both friends is the reliability of the HP units
compared to the competition being a consideration. Unfortunately with
the production no longer being done in an HP plant, and comments
regarding the recent production units I have seen noted, this
advantage may be gone. IMO too bad as customers will, in my
experience, pay a premium for recognized quality. I believe that Sony
has demonstrated this in many of their lines of electronics.

Rich Wood

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why Did You Choose HP?
    ... compared to the competition being a consideration. ... TI had released their first scientific calculator that could kinda compete ... RPN is the simple answer. ... the new ones look kinda cheap in construction (I've never actually used ...
    (comp.sys.hp48)
  • Re: New HP 50 G ?
    ... others devices...to transmit and store your info... ... That is what I designed for a competition last year. ... calculator being released by HP. ...
    (comp.sys.hp48)