Official revival of old calcs

[wildpig]

I received my Hp 15C LE today. Good thing i only have to overpay by only $19 (included shipping) over the msrp of $99 (which does not include ship).

Any rate, the keys definitely feel a little cheaper than the old ones. They are not the nice more glossy higher "quality feel".

I am guessing that it takes HP really no effort at all to do the revival of 15C since the case and keys are so similar to the 12C still being produced.

As far as getting them to revive something like the 42S, that's probably out of question since there is no HP calc being produced with similar keys and case?

The soft pouch included with the 15C LE does feel cheap compared to the old one. And it also too tight and doesn't fit well... Need to be broken in and stretched?

Edited: 18 Aug 2012, 10:38 p.m. after one or more responses were posted

[Brandon Poindexter]

Would the exterior and display of the HP-17B series not be able to be utilized for the hp-42s? Wikipedia tells me that the only difference display wise is one-pixel in width. It wont look at all like the hp-42s of yesteryear, but the display and case are pretty similar looking if i do say so myself. Though there's the problem of actually building the hp-42s code/"OS".

EDIT: In fact it would look more like the hp-35s, which to everyone else's possible displeasure, I certainly don't dislike (looks/exterior wise).

EDIT 2: When i mention "case are pretty similar looking" above, i meant as in the number of buttons mainly.

Edited: 18 Aug 2012, 10:42 p.m.

[Eric Smith]

If you're talking about the current production 17bII+, the problem is that it uses a microcontroller with masked ROM rather than flash memory, so there's no way to replace the firmware.

I haven't taken one apart, but I suspect that the microcontroller is probably mounted chip-on-board, which is bare die bonded to the PC board and then covered with a blob of epoxy, so there's no practical way to replace it.

Typically in such products, the way the LCD is attached to the PCB is via flex circuit that is heat-bonded to the PCB, which is also basically not reusable.

[wildpig]

17bii+ looks hideous. nothing like the classic line of 42s .... doesnt even come close to even the semi imitation of hp35 by hp35s.....

17b was also discontinued

i guess we might never see hp42s being resurrected by hp :(

Edited: 19 Aug 2012, 1:48 a.m.

[Walter B]

Quote:

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i guess we might never see hp42s being resurrected by hp :(

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I concur. And since we reached the same conclusion already in 2008, we started WP 34S then d:-) Enjoy!

[Steve Fennell]

They haven't produced a new RPN scientific since 2007. I think we can conclude they don't plan to release another one. There is no longer a significant market for it, and new engineers I have worked with arrive with TI graphing calculators in hand which then sit mostly unused.

[wildpig]

That is crazy how fast pocket scientific calc has come and gone. I mean it will never go away completely, but in term of the market motivation for new development. I guess a 50 year period isn't that short (a lot better than how long things like vcr and portable compact disc player faired).

I am not in the engineering field so ever since college, all my calcs have been just collectible items since. But as far as even fields like engineering, even the pocket sci calc is not even being used that much? so what do most engineers use now? computer programs? smartphone apps?

btw, free42 on my Touch pro 2 is more than i think i will ever need for a sci calc on the go. i am going to install emu48 and that will probably take care of any graphic calc need. Unless someone else got a better math package for ppc phone...

[Ingo]

50 years from rise to fall is only one 8th of the lifespan of the slide rules, which they made obsolete. I think this is the acceleration of progress...