Financial Calculators

The HP-10C series calculators were introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1981. All are programmable and use reverse Polish notation. Nearly identical in appearance, each model provided different capabilities and was aimed at different user markets. more...

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The HP calculators 10C series consisted of five models:

HP-10C – low end calculator. ($80 1982-1984); HP-11C – basic calculator. ($135 1981-1989); HP-12C – financial calculator. ($150 1981-present); HP-15C – advanced calculator. ($135 1982-1989); HP-16C – programmer's calculator. ($150 1982-1989);

The HP-10C

The HP-10C is the last and lowest-featured calculator in this line even though its number would suggest an earlier origin. The 10C was a basic scientific programmable. While a useful general purpose RPN calculator, the HP-11C offered twice as much for only a slight increase in price. Designed to be an introductory calculator, it was still relatively expensive compared to the competition, and many looking at an HP would just step up to the better HP-11C. Poor sales led to a very short market life.

The HP-12C

The HP-12C is a popular financial calculator. It was such a successful model that Hewlett-Packard redesigned it from scratch, adding several new functions, and introduced the HP-12C Platinum in 2003.

The HP-12C is HP's longest and best-selling product, in continual production since its introduction in 1981. Due to its simple operation for key financial calculations, the calculator long ago became the de facto standard among financial professionals - for example, Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns issue HP-12Cs to the members of each new incoming class of its analysts and associates. Its popularity has endured despite the fact that even a relatively simple, but iterative, process such as amortizing the interest over the life of a loan--a calculation which modern spreadsheets can complete almost instantly--can take over a minute with the HP-12C.

Later HP financial calculators are many times as fast with more functions, but none has been as successful. The HP-12C's programing mode is very intuitive and works like a macro operation on a computer. Basically, the keys you would press in the calculating mode to arrive at a solution are entered in the programing mode along with logical operaters (if, and, etc.) applicable to the solution. After the programing is complete the macro will run in the computation mode to save the user steps and improve accuracy. There are 99 lines of programmable memory on the HP-12C, but 400 lines of program memory are available on the HP-12C platinum.

Over its lifespan, the processors technology has been improved in order to integrate all the circuitry in a single chip and to refresh the manufacturing process (as foundry end of life the older density processes). However, HP's market research found in the late 80's that the users did not trust results obtained too quickly and so the CPU speed was never improved from the original 200 or so KHZ. In the late 1990's, the CPU was changed to a 3V process and the battery was changed to a single 3V cell.

Read more at Wikipedia.org