I was amused a few months ago when one of the people at the new HP calcs group asked me how many HP-12Cs I thought had been sold. Does the new group not have records? Or were they looking to see what impressions people have? Has anyone else here been asked that question?
HP, of course, do not release total numbers sold. That's commercially sensitive information! So maybe the previous calculator groups did not pass the information on to the new one. Except that this should be known by the marketing people.
Gene (Wright), do you know?
Whatever... I told them that my opinion was at least 4 million, but could easily be as high as 10. After, all, 10 million would be only 10 thousand a week for 20 years, and the HP-12C has been on sale for longer than that.
On the 12P, I naturally compared it with the 12C. Keys were much more noisy - like the other new models, the case acts as an echo chamber when a key is pressed, and this can be distracting for people working nearby in a quiet environment. Algebraic mode needs parentheses. Lots more has been written elsewhere.
If you are seriously working on a 12C history book, please email me directly and I'd be happy to discuss more.