![]() ![]() Its popularity has endured despite a relatively simple but iterative process such as amortizing the interest over the life of a loan, a calculation that modern spreadsheets can complete almost instantly, can take over a minute with the HP-12C. Due to its simple operation for key financial calculations, the calculator long ago became the de facto standard among financial professionals. The HP-12C is HP's longest and best-selling product, in continual production since its introduction in 1981. Critics claim that its 1980s technology is antiquated, but proponents point out that it is still the de facto and de jure in high finance. with newer revisions moving to an ARM processor running a software emulator of the original Nut processor. There have been multiple revisions over the years. It's HP's longest and best-selling product and is considered the de facto standard among financial professionals. as part of the HP Voyager series, introduced in 1981. The HP-12C is a financial calculator made by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its successor HP Inc. To make sure the programming worked, I tested some demo programs from my user’s guide, and they all ran just fine.Nut core (HP 1LF5 / HP 1LM2 / HP 1LQ9 / HP 1RR2 / Agilent/ Marvell 2AF1 ) / ARM7TDMI core ( Atmel AT91SAM7L128 ) / ARM Cortex-M4 core ( Atmel ATSAM4LC2CA )ħ…20 ( R0… R9/ CF0… CF9, R.0… R.9/ CF10… CF19) + 5 ( n, i, PV, PMT, FV/ CF20) + 5 ( X, Y, Z, T, LAST X) Ĥ.5 V (3× LR44) or 3 V (1× or 2× CR2032) depending on model The real power of the HP-12C is found when you rotate your iPhone to landscape mode what appears on the screen then is a photographic reproduction of the actual HP-12C calculator, complete with the gold-brown-orange-blue color scheme that made the original so…endearing? Because the app uses the actual calculator’s code, absolutely everything works just like it does on the real calculator.Įvery function, every key, even the ability to create programs-and you haven’t lived until you’ve coded hundred-line-programs for an HP calculator, one key press at a time-it’s all there, and it all works. Wider Is Better: The HP-12C is in its glory when you rotate it to its full-power landscape mode orientation. When used in portrait mode, you can use the number keys, along with all the usual math operators and a couple of other functions such as square roots and memory-perfect for those times when you just need a basic calculator. The iPhone version is actually a bit better than just a clone of the original, though, because HP includes a simplified portrait-mode calculator (the 12C is a landscape-mode device). It not only looks the same, but it actually runs the same code as do the physical calculators. The iPhone version of the HP-12C is a near carbon copy of the actual machine. If you’ve not used this method of data entry before, you’ll have a bit of learning to do.) Reverse Polish Notation, or RPN, for data entry. (Keep in mind, too, that these HP calculators use If you’re looking for a general use calculator, Note that the HP-12C (and other HP calculators) appeal to a fairly narrow range of users-financial professionals (12C and 12C Platinum) and programmers and scientists (15C). (I still have the original Owner’s Handbook and Problem-Solving Guide, too-all 246 pages of it!) Suffice it to say, I know this calculator inside and out, though it doesn’t get as much use now as it did in my prior life. Though I’ve long since lost the receipt, my HP-12C is approaching its 25th anniversary, and it still runs just as well today as it did when brand new. What’s most amazing about this is that I’m not talking about a progression of different HP-12Cs I’m talking about one HP-12C that is probably older than a fair percentage of the people reading this article. From tests during undergraduate school up through my career change in 2005 to full-time Macworld employee, my HP-12C was with me every step of the way. Through it all, one particular piece of gear was always at my side, ready and willing to help with the trickiest of financial calculations: my Hewlett-Packard Back in my previous life, I was a finance guy-that’s what my undergraduate degree is in, and that’s how I made my living for many years. ![]()
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