What should go into a 12c+?

1) Faster. Solve for "i" in a second or two, rather than 10-15.
2) Programming features: Add subroutines/return; add x>y and x NOT EQUAL 0
3) Add fix function for formatting display, replacing using f [digit], which uses up the yellow-shifted locations of each numeric digit
4) Add direct computation of slope and intercept for linear regression
5) Add permutations and combinations
6) Add x^2
7) Add trig and inverses, common log and antilog, degrees or radians mode
8) Fix solution given when solving for "n" to be actual # of periods, not rounded up automatically
9) Add hyperbolic trig functions (using a prefix key perhaps)
10) Add more memory for programs
11) Add Normal Distribution and Inverse Normal Distribution
12) Add population standard deviation calculation

There are 26 easy to use "unoccupied" locations on the 12C keyboard that are available for functions. My suggestions use:

#1 - None
#2 - 4 locations
#3 - 1 location
#3 - 2 locations
#5 - 2 locations
#6 - 1 location
#7 - 10 locations
#8 - None
#9 - 1 location
#10 - None
#11 - 2 locations
#12 - 1 location

a total of 24 of these 26 locations. C'mon HP, you've got 2 locations free!

Gene

P.S. The unused locations are: yellow shifted locations of the STO, RCL, CHS, EEX, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ., E+, /, *, -, + keys; blue shifted locations of the STO, RCL, /, *, -, + keys. Note that being able to use the yellow shift locations of 0 - 9 REQUIRES a FIX function.

Now, if you can manufacture it without using painted keys, then sign me up!

Oh, yeah, one other thing. If you insist on making it in China, then reward workers based upon QUALITY, not QUANTITY.

B.

Forgive, all, what may seem impertinent, but:

I notice that practically ANYONE involved in business or finance has a 12c. HP has had business-oriented calcs before & after this one, yet none seems to be the gold standard that the 12c is. Is it the form factor, the RPN, the lack of complexity, the precision of the calculations, the professional feel; WHAT...

I know also TI, Casio, Sharp, Canon, etc have had "financial" calcs. But they never reproduced the cachet, did they?

What exactly did HP do so RIGHT, here in the 12c, that has kept HP producing a variant long after all others in the series have been retired?

I know it sold well; was really just wondering (since I haven't experience with financial calcs) what financial users valued in it so much as to make it almost a passport into the boardroom?

Having lived and worked in China for several years, I can tell you that their industrial capability spans the entire gamit. Some of the products produced there are very high quality. Some, obviously, are not. The quality of the finished product most likely will depend on the product specifications, quality, and cost parameters that are given to the contract manufacturing company more than their location. (That is, assuming that one has done their homework relative to identifying competent manufacturing firms to work with.)

Woody said:

"Having lived and worked in China for several years, I can tell you that their industrial capability spans the entire gamit. Some of the products produced there are very high quality. Some, obviously, are not."

So did I, and I have to agree. You get the whole range of quality - problem is, you get it all within one lot from the same supplier. Best chances are to cooperate with either FOEs or companies with heavy foreign investment.

Being a financial manager, I've noticed that many of my colleagues own a 12c or a 17B.

To understand why, one should get back to the 80's, when this calc, along with the 11C, was sold while the Spice series was still available.

The 12C was [i]the[/i] manager's calc : golden bezel, many financial calculations capabilities that they one day learned at the university but forgotten in the meantime. The look was there and, even if many people used them, most of the time it was for banging figures rathet than computing complex financial equations. In other word, it became more an accessory rather than a powerful calculation tool.

I'm not sure HP was aiming to this success : actually most of the functions on the 12c were already present on the 38C, but I guess the 12C had this something special that, alike the engineer's slide rule in the shirt pocket, it became equivalent to a "finance guy" label.

On my side I use a old 41C for banging figures, but I often use other calculators that I take from my collection, a bit like choosing my tie every day...

I would like to see the fraction mode similar to the 32SII or the 30S fraction capability on any new 12C or similar.

Well, I have a 17BII, a 19BII and two 12Cs; I use the 17 and 19 at home; the 12C is on my desk at work.

In business, image often transcends reality. I was given this piece of advice early on in my career, "Don't dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want." That includes my accessories. Nice watch, cufflinks, and a 12C.

It's rare that one performs calculations in a meeting, but when you do, it's nice to have a small, attractive calculator. (As a sidenote, it's also nice to pass to someone else for them to use. They usually freak when they realize that the calc has no equals key!)

Do I amortize someone's mortgage with it? No. Do I calculate the Internal Rate of Return? No. I do simple calculations, and the 12C allows me do perform those with a bit of class.

Call me a snob. Call me anything. Just don't call me late for dinner.

B.

Well, I recognize here a typical behavior...
it's prmitive psychology: members of a group have their own codes, customs, fashions...

On my side in board meetings my favourite trick is along with commercial people when they announce a turnover growth of 10%/year for 5 years, to calculate a total growth+61% instead of +50% ;-). There my 12C has an advantage

I just suspect Calculators are not real high on the agenda right now, as post merger results are not looking promising. Must be the economy ;+} (HP reason) or just perhaps the founding family may have been somewhat correct in the pre-merger assessment. In any regards, I hope they can get it straightened out unlike a few others that will never recover.