I'm yet to understand why is it that HP has not built a true pocket scientific RPN calculator like the HP-15 was? HP scientific calculators are huge. The newer HP 35s calc is pretty big. A single line screen, pocket size, RPN/Alg would be a great addition to the HP line of calculators.

I also dislike calculator with menus in which I had to click multiple key strokes to get to a simple percent change or find mathematical functions. Direct key strokes are wonderful - one or two color shift keys can accomodate a lot of direct functions.

Programming capabilities are nice but not necessarily required.

My schoolage son just commented today how strange it is that there are no machines on the market today as powerful and small as the 15c.

Maybe there is hope.

Then again, look at who his father is...

As far as why HP hasn't built a new 15c-type calculator, corporate decisions these days seem to be made by idiotic marketing concepts instead of common sense.

As far as menu- vs. keyboard-driven interface, that's more of a personal preference. But I agree the functionality of keyboard-driven is simpler, even if the keyboard is more cluttered.

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corporate decisions these days seem to be made by idiotic marketing concepts instead of common sense.

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quite simply, because the goal is no longer to produce able engineers with useful tools, but instead to produce consumers that will buy disposable products of minimum acceptable quality.

the 15c was a quality product that would last a lifetime. the person who could master it would attain a level of skill that would see them do well in their profession. but HP (and many other previously 'quality' companies) discovered that this was not the way to maximize shareholder revenue.

instead we provide students with tools that are designed to become obsolete, to break, and whose purpose is as limited as the market will withstand.

it is not just an HP problem, it is becoming almost impossible to buy ANY quality scientific calculator that is not geared exclusively to to what has become a dumbed-down educational system. today's calculators are not designed as general purpose problem solving tools, but as "answering machines" where the student can type in (verbatim) a limited range of questions, and have the machine magically produce an answer that student can write into exam paper and teacher can with little effort assign a grade to.

but we are all happy about this, as it maximises shareholder revenue - revenue with which we can all buy pink plastic flamingos and fruit-flavoured vodka mixers.

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but we are all happy about this, as it maximises shareholder revenue - revenue with which we can all buy pink plastic flamingos and fruit-flavoured vodka mixers.

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I teach physics to teenagers. Each year it gets harder to convince them to buy a "decent" calculator. The problem is that they don't see a need to buy one because they all have their iphones. Obviously they are not allowed to use them. But they are getting more and more reluctant.

That's the current problem.

Just require them to load free42;-0

Edited: 13 Nov 2010, 8:16 a.m.

Sounds a lot like this credit card sized RPN/ALG scientific calc:

Dave.

Edited: 15 Nov 2010, 12:52 a.m.

How can we help you to finish this tiny wonder Dave???

Long time no see ;)