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Most strange is the interchange of (+) and (x). Doesn't make any sense at all. May easily happen during reassembly though.
Posts: 472
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I'd need a lot more evidence to be convinced. It sure looks to have a standard Woodstock battery right there on the back. It has normal molded keys, so it's a production unit. Missing the charger and rubber feet means nothing, of course. The fact that it has a final faceplate rules out any kind of very early prototype.
All I see that is interesting is the lack of a serial number, but that plastic is easy to "melt" with solvents, etc.
I'd have to see if the keyboard has been disassembled. If the original heat stakes are there, then I might be more convinced that this was possibly an earlier prototype.....
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Add me to the "I'm not convinced" list as well. The exchanged keys means nothing toward making it a prototype, it happened more often than people think as I've seen more than one HP with exchanged keys.
IMO, it's nothing more than rejected production parts assembled into an employees take home calculator. Unless of course there is a photo of the circuit board and date codes on the IC's to ponder...