HP 20b Business Consultant Financial Calculator - 2162461

This Office Product item from Hewlett Packard was reviewed on 5-Oct-2008.

HP 20b Business Consultant Financial Calculator - 2162461 Reference Office Product. Classifications : Financial & Business Calculators Office Electronics Categories Electronics All Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard Custom Brands Custom Stores Specialty Stores Computers Features Electronics Calculators O . Click the following link to view the cover of HP 20b Business Consultant Financial Calculator - 2162461.

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1) Office Product Office Product HP 20b Business Consultant Financial Calculator - 2162461 by Hewlett Packard. My 10-year-old HP 10b died. I assumed another HP would be comparable. Rude awakening. The good news: it calculates faster. The bad: the buttons and the form. The buttons give you get zero tactile verification so you have to look at the screen every entry. The form? My hands are large, but I can´t hold it comfortably. It is beveled so the small face is in your palm. As a result, it tends to be unsteady in your grasp. It has good rubber on the back, so it is OK on a desk, but it is a poor shape for hand held work.¤

2) Office Product Office Product HP 20b Business Consultant Financial Calculator - 2162461 by Hewlett Packard. As a long time fan of HP handheld calculators,particularly, the financial calculators line, I pre-ordered and bought the HP20b as a toy once it hit the retail shelf in Singapore.

At first glance, the HP20b financial consultant strikes the potential buyer by its contemporary sleek form factor, stylish iPAQ-ish look and nice lines.

For many years, HP did not add any completely new model to its financial calculator line, and seemed to had been gone complacent as the undisputed industrial leader with its already impressive line of financial calculators.

Released in June 2008, the HP20b is a completely new model to this product line to the delight of fans of HP calculators like myself, but whether the entry of the HP20b is HP´s signals to re-invest its handheld financial calculator segment still remains to be seen.

TARGETED AT ENTRY LEVEL USERS, the HP20b, now selling at S$88 Singapore dollars (US$52) a piece at retail stores, is somewhat expensive for the average student and budget conscious accountant.

WORTH THE MONEY? NO, not if one compares it with nice value for money cheap and cheerful workhorses like competition like the HP10bII+ & TI BAIIplus. A "maybe" worth it for the money if you consider that the HP20b it is feature reach and competitively priced to challenge TI´s flagship financial calculator, the BAIIplus Pro.

NICE 2-LINES DISPLAY. As a mainstream entry-level financial calculator HP20b has all the features required by varsity student on a finance course. Seasoned and newbie users would be equally impressed with the generous LCD display which comes with a scrolling display which display pixel text information of the functions currently selected by the users.

POWER PROCESSOR. The HP20b is powered with a fast ARM processor-CPU which enables speedy calculations, informative multi language display which would impress first time user to this product line. Yet without a solver or programming feature built-in on the HP20b, the power of the ARM CPU will not be fully realised.

WHAT´S IN THE NAME? The 20b designation does not mean a successor to the out of production 19B lineage or better than 12c and 17BII series,this designation is simply a continuation in the line where the 19B had left off a decade ago.

NOT A SUCCESSOR TO THE HP19B. If any HP fans would think that the HP20b is a successor or upgrade of the HP19B financial consultant in terms of function and capability they would have to wait for another high end upgrade or addition to the line.

WHAT´s MISSING FROM THE BOX? The usual protective slip case was notably absent in this age of cost cutting. I´d rather think HP wants the owners of new HP20b to show off their new sleek and cool HP20b.

PRODUCT SUPPORT comes with the package in the form of a thin printed environmentally friendly user manual,nevertheless, HP has one of the most excellent online user support to satisfy the demanding power user for its handheld calculator products- a more comprehensive manual should be available online in PDF format.

SOME REALLY NICE NEW FEATURES found in a completely new HP, the HP20b can be customized to display owner´s name on start up with comes with RPN input as an optional function too!

SHOULD YOU BUY IT? Yes, if you think that this is the coolest looking and best entry level HP financial calculator you have seen. For new users who has not been introduced to RPN input, the RPN on the HP20b is an optional mode. If you have a choice, also consider the more sturdy higher build quality and competitively priced Texas Instrument flagship, the BAIIplusPro.

A MUST HAVE? No, because I do not see the HP20b as a contender to its distinguished cousins, particularly, the HP12c & 17BII series. For new users, best buy a HP12c, HP12cP or 17BII+ if keystroke programming is an expandable requirement.

THE RATING. A 3 STARS out of 5 overall would be realistic and fair for a neutral rating of the HP20b, even though I feel that the HP20b deserves a "4" for the nice ideas and solid effort on the part of the HP design team.

As a completely new model,however, it will take some time for the HP20b to prove its place in the HP financial calculator/consultant lineage until extensive field User Acceptance Testing or UAT has been done to iron out the bugs and quality issues.

Meanwhile, to the calculator people at HP, please keep improving and keep the new stuff coming. You can´t just call and add a "consultant" label to a financial calculator because the entry HP20b still cannot be programmed to perform calculations using the Black Scholes Option Pricing Model - for discerning HP users this is inadequate.

However, for the more adventurous users, HP has made available, on its website, a DEVELOPER´S KIT "designed for developers who want to re-purpose the HP 20b and reuse the platform for other purposes". Thanks to the ARM CPU, though not as easy as to do programming on the HP12c like the keystroke programming available on the HP12c. The HP12c is still a customizable machine. [paragraph added 19.08.2008].

Thank you for reading this end user review of the HP20b.¤

3) Office Product Office Product HP 20b Business Consultant Financial Calculator - 2162461 by Hewlett Packard. For business professionals and students, the stylish HP 20b Business Consultant is easy to use and learn, with finance, business, and real estate functions at your fingertips. Get faster answers with the intuitive layout and high-speed processor, and view those big numbers on the large 2-line display. Choose your preferred entry method: time-saving RPN, familiar algebraic or traditional chain algebraic. New high-speed CPU provides fast results and 15-digit internal accuracy HP legendary heritage of quality and reliability Large 2-line display - View large numbers (up to 12 digits) Scroll through variables, detailed labels, menus and prompts (up to 8 characters) Time-saving RPN entry, familiar algebraic, or traditional chain algebraic Trigonometry, hyperbolic and other advanced math functions Easily configure your display format and language preferences For use in Finance, Insurance, Real estate, Accounting, Statistics, and Banking calculations Permitted for use with most board exams¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 2-Nov-2008, 883585875344, 060-360-690-PSB-G8B-MMB-8

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