Hi all,
72105702 and 72105701 arrived today (finally).
Straight LCD, no problems. The crooked serials don't bother me at all.

Thank you HP for making keys with the same feeling as my 10c, 15c and 11c!!!
It is like a visit from the past...All the noted problems aside, this is a keeper for me as a daily calculator, and a breath of fresh air after the 33s...

Speaking of the past, any reactions from you guys about the included DVD ?
(ok, let's ignore the PR hype aspect)...
Ciao,
Tadeyev

I bought mine on August 9 and seem to have a relatively early serial number: CNA 72101920. Yes, the serial number sticker is on crooked, but who cares.

The included DVD is a definite keeper.

A design element that I miss from the classic (35/45/55/65/70/80) series was the use of multiple colors on keys. The 35s has the blue key, the gold key, and the four grey arrow keys, but otherwise the keys are black and hard to distinguish.

I also detest white lettering on a black background. It is harder to read, especially for those of us getting on in years.

Here's what I would like to see, based upon comparing the 35s to my classics:

The numeric and decimal keys should definitely be white. I keep on expecting them to be right-aligned (as on the classics) when they are centered in the 35s.

The four arithmetic keys should be a medium grey. Possibly also ENTER, +/-, E, <-, and C.

The top row keys should be the same color as the four direction keys; and this in turn should be a different color from the other keys (second and third row, (), EQN, and sigma +). In keeping with tradition, I suggest black for the former and darker grey for the latter. It's alright for the relatively few programming keys to be the evil white-on-black as long as the majority of keys are not.

Note that all of these are cosmetic changes only. I could quibble a bit with the layout as well. For example, I would prefer to have (as on the classics) LOG and 10^x be the gold and blue for one key, and LN and e^x be the gold and blue for another key. However, I'm less of a power user on calculators these days and I assume that there were good reasons for the layout. So I don't really want to push these arguments.

I think that my suggested color changes would make the calculator more attractive and intrinsically easier to use. I guess that someone with a drawing application could come up with an image mockup of what I'm talking about. Hint, hint...