HP 32S II - worth buying?

[John R]

(12-04-2014 04:00 AM)John Galt Wrote:  If you had to choose just one, which one would you prefer? The 42S or 32S II, and why?

I'm a huge fan of the 42S and would choose it over the 32SII in an instant. As Paul said, it is much, much more powerful -- it includes a broader set of mathematical and programming functions. Other notable benefits of the 42S include the two-line display, alphanumerics, seamless complex-number support, matrix support, and the IR transmit capability. (There are others, but these are probably the features near the top of most peoples' lists.)

That said, the 32SII is still an awesome calculator, and it does have a function-access-speed advantage: while much of the 42S functionality is buried in menus that must be accessed with soft keys, all 32SII functions are accessible using the shift keys and the keyboard itself. So you can generally get results on the 32SII with fewer keystrokes than it takes on the 42S.

For the record, I own multiple 42S units and multiple 32SII units; I keep one 42S on my desk at home and one 42S on my desk at work, while the 32SII units mostly sit quietly in my collection.