HP 12C graphic design scheme

[Mr. E]

HP FIX THE 12C series!!!!

I bought the 12CP. After 3 days, I returned it because;

1) The tactile feedback from the keys was atrocious.
2) Keypress reliability was severely compromised.
3) *I could barely read the keypad labels!*

Seriously, orange lettering against a silver background? I don't
recall ever encountering that graphic combination in my life. Not in the military, not in computing, not in driving is 2 different
countries.

BTW the Prestige graphic scheme is, at best, only a minimal improvement over the Platinum. I NEVER had an optical discernment issue with the original 12C scheme. Suggestion: port the Platinum/Prestige to the 12C design scheme and I'll buy 3 myself!

Toodles.

[Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil)]

HI;

after having a Prestige in hands and comparing it to the HP12C (I guess you saw the pictures...), the golden labels contrast against the bronse-colored background is somehow better than the one with the Platinum, but depends on the angle against direct light. In some cases, you need to rotate the calculator (or your head...) a bit prior to read the labels.

I think that one of the worst cases is the HP39G+. At least with my two units (serial #4130XXXX), the reflective dark-orange labels against the also reflective light-blue faceplate make them hard to read, with any amount of light. The user must position the calculator in such a way that the existing light directly reflects against the background so it looks almost white. Then you can correctly and somehow easily identify the labels. Compared to the HP39G+, the Platinum is easier reading.

Anyone else with the same problem with the HP39G+?

Cheers.

Luiz (Brazil)

[Gene]

Yes, the "metallic" scheme of the background on the 39g+ makes it a really bad color scheme.

However, the dark GREEN shift key version of the 39g+ is the worst one HP has ever made, IMO and according to the contrast scores. :-)

Gene