review HP 20b Calculator

The HP 20b Business consultant calculator is recently available in Hong Kong. Although there are negative comments on the web concerning the keyboard, I still give a try. I have never used an HP calculator before, I have only used Casio, and this is my first HP calculator. As, what the web have told me, the Keyboard is not really so good, but acceptable, better than Casio, I think that for those who gave negative comments must be long term HP users, who have used the high quality HP 12c, while 12c's keyboard is extremely good. The calculator's function impressed me, it's both a scientific calculator and Financial calculator, though some scientific functions are missing, for example cube root, but there are still full set of statistical functions. Although there are scientific functions, it's bit inconvenient, for example, sin, you have to press swift before pressing the button. If you need revised function, even more inconvenient, you have to enter the math library, before choosing it. After all, it's a Financial cal! On the other hand, the business functions are very useful, with Depreciation, cash flow, Time value of money, bonds, and percentage calculation. It's easy to calc TVM, only store the value inside the variables and press the key of unknowns, the result will be there. There are functions like date calculations.

One other factor making it a good calculator is that it include three modes: chain, Algebraic, and the tradition RPN. I can use RPN in Maths lessons, while using Algebraic during Accounting lesson! Also, it's powerful, I mean the storage and CPU, it's uses a 30MHz CPU, and the large storage size is big. When you turn it off, for example, before turning off, it displayed '50', than you turn it off. When you turn it on again, 50 is still there! Also, in the pass, I use the Casio fx-3650P, almost every secondary student uses this model. It can only calculate up to 69!, and HP 20b can calculate up to 253!, that's a big difference! The only bad point for me is that HP 20b is non programmable, to I can not treat totally as a scientific calc(quadratic formula is very important!), may be I should bring both to exam. I am not sure if the HP 20b is approved for exam in the rest of the world, but it is Approved by the Hong Kong examination and assessment Authority for exams.

I have to say that it's a very good calculator, except the keyboard...)

 

You are so wrong the 20b is the most programmable calculator in the world

http://www.wiki4hp.com/doku.php

Software is open source, and you can program that thing to do anything you want.

It is seriously flawed for any school to approve that calculator for exams. If I had this during university, I would have put wireless modules in the thing and have half the class on instant messaging during exams.

 

well, I have heard about that, hacking the device, but many calculators can also be hacked, in that case, no calculator should be brought to exams :lol: . In Hong Kong, students border hacking their EEE PC, or playing stupid online games rather than hacking a calculator. Most of them will not fully use all functions of the calculators. So they do not choose their calculator carefully. That's why almost all of them uses the same calculator! I think it will be a good thing that students in Hong Kong to hack calculator rather than sticking to those online games, at least they will learn some knowledge about programming and engineering :lol: .