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My bookstore had about a dozen, snagged one. There was a run on them once the word got out, completely sold out in no time.

To whoever designed this keyboard: it's failure, you moron!
This V shaped crap is complete BS. The Enter key is hard to find, and poorly placed. The keys themselves are a cheap knockoff of the old rocker pivot.

The display is adequate, but the decimal point is almost invisible. Lots of mistakes will come from this.

The added memory is a plus, you can have a root finder program and a matrix program at the same time, unlike the pathetic memory of the 32sii.

This might be a decent machine if the designers had put the keys in a straight line, kept the big Enter key, and had a visible decimal point.

Thanks a bunch for what you've done for HP calcs, Carly!

And a big thanks to the NCEES for helping make this POS an indispensable item.

J.C. Randerson

I am preparing myself for a new spamming of messages flaming the keyboard of the 33s. It really isn't that bad. Use it for a while and you will get used to it. Anything new is weird.

I understand that these are your first impressions, but don't stop using it entirely because of your first impressions. What would have happened is the first calculator users had thrown out (or set aside) the HP-35 because it used a "weird" entry system?

-Ben

Hi,

of course no flames, only some thoughts.

I think you can hardly compare any of the classic HP calcs up to and including the 48GX with the newer ACO and post-ACO stuff.

So far the only new machine with some potential could be the 49g+ (except the kbd layout, of course;-)

As we all know, there were some reasons for the entry system of the HP-35 and sucessors.
One of them is it's high efficiency for input, another that it was much cheaper to produce. RAM as expensive back then.

And I doubt that the first calc users would have thrown away these machines, because they offered new methods of calculating logs & trigs, etc, thus omitting the tables, combined with an ergonomic way of entering data, using the ENTER key. It was a big step forward!

IMHO the 33S isn't much of a step forward, except the ALG/RPN switch, but you could see in the 12Cpt how serious ALG mode was...

Instead, it's just a design experiment, like many mobile phones.

Why do you think the SonyEricsson T630 (and T610) are so successful? Because they have a straight keyboard layout
and a user interface that simply works.
There's not much to 'get used to', instead just use it;-)

BTW: What do mean with 'It really isn't that bad' ?
Is it as good as the kbd of a 32SII, or is it just a bit better than some people feared?

Raymond

"... BTW: What do mean with 'It really isn't that bad' ? Is it as good as the kbd of a 32SII, or is it just a bit better than some people feared?

Raymond

LOL!! I hope it's better. I haven't found one yet!

By no means can it compare to the classics. But compare it to say the 9s, or even the 30s and tehre is no competition. Each age has its calculator.

The keyboard is definitely better than the 32sii, in my opinion (not layout, but clicking quality... the layout, it is a bit worse).

-Ben

J.C.

Could you post the first 5 characters of the serial number of your unit? Just want to see if it is the same as the “Walmart” batch, which was “CN404” (at least mine is, I presume they are all the same). Many here hoped that the delay between the Walmart batch and general release was so that hp could make changes in the design of the 33s. One of the hoped-for changes was to fix the tiny decimal point, which they obviously have not done. If they made a new batch, signified by a new serial number series with no upgrades, it probably means that they are not going to change it anytime soon.

I don't own a 33s but from the pictures it appears that HP hss provided algebraic entry but no parenthesis. How is this a workable solution?

John

From the pictures parenthesis are [RS] [+/-] and [RS] [E].
Having them shifted will hopefully convert more people to RPN.

Arnaud

Serial # CN410...

The 33s is a POS. The V shaped keyboard is the bucktoothed grin of the designer laughing at the user. The size and position of the Enter key is the worst I've ever seen. The invisible decimal point is inexcusable. Here's an acronym for the 33s: CCC, Cheap Chinee Crap.

J.C. Randerson

Let's try to avoid insulting entire races of people. If that is not the intent, then let's please be more careful with how we say things.

Ever free of free speech? I repeat for emphasis: the 33s is Cheap Chinee Crap.

J.C. Randerson

Thanks Arnaud. Knowing where to look helped as I didn't see the parenthesis during my initial look. Having to use a shift key to access a parenthesis would probably deter me and others from using them. The alternative on this model is to use RPN with an undersized Enter key. :(

I wanted to buy a new RPN calculator to take some of the load off and potentially extend the lives of my existing 34c, 15c and 32sii. Also, I'm starting to do more IRR and NPV calculations with my current job. After reading impressions on the 33s and 12c platinum I decided to purchase a 12c. It is great for doing the basic arithmetic that makes up most of my daily calculator needs and of course has NPV and IRR buit in. The calculator seems to be well made. The keys feel good and in particular the Enter key has a much better "pop" compared to my 15c. Overall, it was a very good purchase. :)

John

While Mr. Randerson views about the 33s may be as interesting as those from other users; I would say that there is little hope in asking him to be respectful for other persons, opinions, or national origins. He seems to be a young and very smart person who may not have been exposed to some of the multiple aspects of the contemporary world yet.

As a similar and futile discussion with him, about the usual respectful attitude in this Forum, had already happened around January 15, 2004 (check the Archives Forum, http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv014.cgi?read=50022, and follow down the thread for some 20 enlightening messages), I suggest we can save a lot of time and resources avoiding such a fruitless path this time.

I apologize again if my imperfect command of the English language prevents this message from conveying its fully friendly intention.

Ever heard of civil discourse? This is a private forum (not a public one) and so your free speech rights would *not* be abridged if you were disinvited and your posts deleted. Personally I think you've posted more than enough offensive language here, and that this would not be a significant loss.

Furthermore, I take issue with your characterization of the HP33S as "cheap". It costs about $60 (if you can even find one). It is, in fact, far *more expensive* than any other current-model NCEES-approved calculator.

For comparison, another widely-recommended (and widely available) calculator for NCEES exams is the Casio FX-115MS Plus. It has a 2-line display, solar power, logical operators, complex numbers, probability distributions, a solve function, numerical differentiation, and numerical integration. Granted, the Casio is not programmable and lacks RPN. On the other hand, it only costs $15. Now that's cheap. The 33S, at $60, is not.

I recently acquired a cheap 12C from ebay just to see what the fuss was about. Having no use whatsoever of the financial functions, I enjoy that calc quite a lot anyway and would love to have a calc that would be only its right hand part.
Of course, I think I would really enjoy a 15c but they are currently out of my budget.

Arnaud

Picked mine up today at the university bookstore. 6 in yesterday, mine was the second to last. (and they wern't even on display yet)

CNA 4100...

I think a fair comparison is the 33s-as-32sii replacement vs. the Aurora FN1000-as-HP12c replacement.

The Aurora's 7-segment LED has better contrast and little or no shadow, with a readable decimal point. (But, it does have the weird apostrophe-commas rather than commas on the character baseline.) The Aurora's keyboard layout is more conventional (i.e., rectilinear), but no more logical in its placement of keys than is the 33s'.

I think that in all other respects, the 33s is superior -- certainly in key feel and overall quality.

Neither new model is "as good as" the H-P model they replace, and neither was created by "the old H-P". But I think the 33s is, overall, a better-realized piece of work than is the Aurora.

(If they'd just gotten that display right, I wouldn't have a serious complaint with it.)

Hey J. C.

If you really hate your 33s that much why not quit complaining about it and sell it on ebay. I'm sure someone will buy it for about twice its suggested retail value.

Since you're such a problem solving genius, you should be willing to back up your previous boast that you can pass the PE exam with your father's slide rule. That'll show those pinhead Luddites. Of course, if it doesn't work out, you can always use the profits from the sale of your 33s to pay to take the exam again.

Good luck.

Wayne.

Anyone with a spare 33S should be able to resell it for a significant profit -- at least before April 16-17, which are the dates of the next NCEES exams.

But the profit probably won't cover the exam costs. In California, for example, it costs $ 275 to take (or retake) a PE or PLS exam.

Norris,

Apparently I am living in the past. I took the PE in VA (only had to take it once) in 1994 and I believe it cost $65.

Oh, well.

Take care.

Wayne.

I am of the exact ethnic extraction the epithet refers to. I like to hold on to what little money I have. On some days I feel awful and have a rather low opinion of myself. I can still do some pretty good math.

I guess this makes me a HP-33S... except it isn't my keys that are slanted...

... heck, let's all chill, guys. This isn't worth shortening your life by a few more minutes.

Just got my 33S (S/N CNA41001002) yesterday from Oregon State University Bookstore (Corvallis).

I'm pretty happy with it. I like the way it shows the function/operation name (in the X register line) while your finger is pressing the key, but doesn't execute the function/operation until you release the key. Reminds me of the 41, except it doesn't NULL if you hold it too long.

I have more confidence in this keyboard than my 49G+ (which is supposed to have the improved keys).

The chevron keyboard layout isn't too bad, except for the busyness of all the shifted key legends. I held it up and asked my wife what she thought. She said "now that's a cool looking calculator" (and she's not impressed with my HP collection.. I don't understand why ;-). It kind of has that left-it-out-the-sun-too-long-and-it-melted look to it.

However, it does exhibit all the bugs Ben Salinas mentioned in his post: First(?) HP 33s bug

Overall, this ones' a keeper.

Matt