Voyager design history?

[naddy]

(10-23-2024 02:54 AM)John Casper Wrote:  HP 15C is grossly overrated as compared to the HP 42s,which followed.There should have been HP 42s Collectors Edition...

Frankly, I think the 15C CE exists because it's basically just a variant of the current HP-12C. They did it because they could. A hypothetical 42S CE would presumably require too much engineering effort.

The best calculator is the one you actually use.

The 11C exists in a very sweet spot of a small, ergonomic package, and what it does, it does well. The same more or less applies to the 15C. The 42S is the all around more powerful machine, but if the subset of functionality you actually use is well-served by an 11C/15C, then the 42S is just more complicated. And there's one thing the 42S is not: It is not keystroke efficient. The LN/e^ switch aside, all the functions it shares with the 15C require at least as many keystrokes as on the 15C, and quite a number require more keystrokes, e.g. [f][FIX][2] vs. [SHIFT][DISP][FIX][2][ENTER].

And then there are the people who prefer the 32SII over the 42S, as evidenced by the fact that SwissMicros saw it fit to create the DM32. Comparing the 32S(II) and the 42S, it strikes me that the 32S is a tool ready for use and the 42S is a tool chest that you use to build the tool you need. Bear with me. The 32S provides all the functions many people will ever need, plus some limited programming (so as to not be inferior to its predecessor, the 11C), and the added equation support in the 32SII obviates the need for many programs. The 32SII is also more keystroke efficient. By contrast, the 42S has a somewhat more powerful program model, alpha support and, importantly, the memory that allows you to build custom programs. Using a 42S without writing your own programs seems like a waste.

These are all different sweet spots for different users.