Plus42 Pricing and documentation

[Paalar]

I've been reviving my interest in HP calculators. As many before me, I started out using slide rules, was forced to use log tables on exams (GCEs London) but was liberated once the HP25 replaced my Sinclair Scientific, the latter bought with left over lunch money. Believing I had caught up with the development in HP calculators, I started my revival with their latest HP Prime. Having worked with SW dev and UI design and reviewing stuff, I was shocked at the lack of a unified user experience, the half-baked solutions to difficult design choices (RPN only works sort of in some areas) and the re-introduction of HP Pascal - it used to be the language of the future, and it might well be for all I know. But it's not the language of now. Nobody asked for it, but there you are. And no RPL or keystroke programming. And buggy software. What had happened?? So I discovered the Plus 42. Almost bug free, and based on a solid foundation of UI experience. Priced the same as weird "scientific calculator apps" of which there are many.

Why this low price? The Prime cost me roughly €150 and doesn't really work. My other calculators have been similarly priced in 2023 currency, or more. Is a Plus42 worth less because it runs on my iPad or my Pixel with amazing processors and super fast performance? No. Quite the contrary. I would rather have a calculator on my phone than carrying yet another device. "Oh but exams for students!!" Who cares about students? In Norway where I now live (and throughout Europe) they now use online CAS and Python S/W in all schools and colleges. Calculators for students has gone the way of the Dodo. So there is a new maket, professionals who needs to solve problems and who have moved beyond Excel and don't want to carry Mathematica with them.

To set Plus42 apart it should cost €50 - 100 to reflect its quality. Unfortunately, that's the way of the world. Is a Porsche worth its current selling price? No. But the pricing defines the brand. There was a time when they were struggling, but then branding consultants came along and put the price where their quality aspirations were, and the rest is history. Thomas could take a page from their book...

And with that extra money, it should come with a PDF manual with the same typeface and layout as the original manual. The manual is Plus42s weakest link. So much functionality is not really documented to the same high standard as the original. And as a bonus, pay some YouTuber to produce a slick series of videos featuring the Plus42 and how it is useful for the executive of today, and tomorrow's inventors, engineers and Nobel laureates.