Funny, I don't recall the Pontiac Aztec becoming the world's number one top selling design because it was radically and appealingly different, and youthfully eye-catching .....I must have missed something!!!!!! By adopting the same design philosophy with the HP33S this machine will enjoy the same notoriety and become a world Number 1 sales success (NOT).
Why should HP adopt the same old design strategy as Harley Davidson has adopted with their motorcycles and Volkswagen has with their famous VW BUG ......it obviously doesn't work at all to stick to the same theme to achieve longevity and fame.....do you get my drift!!!
Image what would happen to Harley Davidson if they dropped their classic design and went with the mega-trendy modern youthful design of the Japanese HONDA CB750.....bye bye Harley Davidson. The Japs are actually copying the Harley Davidson design in droves because it is so popular (despite Harley’s antique design formula hardly changing for more than 50 years). Young and old people love the Harley's because it's a sign of quality, prestige, affluence, uniqueness, distinctiveness - and people aspire to own them. Same analogy applies here with HP's design experiment in the HP33s – they’ve changed to far from what they traditionally produce ....and people don’t like it.
If economics is the rationalism of HP, why can't we have the best of both worlds - put the plastic face of a HP41 (example only) on the cheap electronic internals of a HP33S style calculator ....this has got to be remotely possible, surely. The homogeneous rectangular keys of the HP41 have to be more economical to manufacture than the exotic "vee" shaped keys of the HP33S.
The HP33S design has already been pseudo-tested on the market in real life ......in the equivalent CITIZEN calculator model. Has this been a run-away sales success with the mega-trendy youth market and received rave reviews......NO!!!...the point has already been proven about the design already ...In this case the HP33S design is one step worse than the equivalent CITIZEN....a Citizen that’s been hit by an earthquake…..hence the mal-aligned and mis-shapen keys and keyboard arrangement of the HP33S…The earthquake must have been a 6 on the Richter scale.