17bii, 17bii+ and 30B, or "Why did the 30B die?"

[Zac Bruce]

Good afternoon all,

A quick question or two about the 17BII/BII+ and 30B.
I received in the mail today a 17bii that I picked up for $10 AUD, in very good condition, and I'm quite happy with it. Certainly I don't need another financial calculator, but it's nice to have.

Initial impressions are that it feels instantly familiar, after having been using the 19B quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. Nice to have RPN back, I don't know how many times I've had to correct my inputs on the 19B....should probably try buy a 19Bii I guess! I do prefer the larger screen on the 19B, and it's initially a little strange to see that the menu keys don't quite line up with the screen. But anyway, I digress!

I'm looking for some insight as to whether there were any functional differences between the 17bii and the 17bii+, aside from the solver (LET GET) which I am already aware of. Looking through the manuals there seems to be little if any difference. I have noticed some loss of functionality coming from the 19B however.


The other question I have is comparing the calculator to the 20/30B.
I don't yet have either of these calculators, but looking through the manual it looks like an incredibly capable machine, with many more useful inbuilt functions than the 17bii+/12c/10B. I'm quite impressed by the math and statistics functions available. Mind you this is from an accounting/finance students point of view, not from someone in STEM.

To me it seems like; 10BII+ is a student's basic, do most-things, algebraic calculator, and no doubt generates a lot of sales. Here in Aus one of our major university only allows the 10BII+ for business students and gives them for "free" to new students. The 12C holds a special place, the CFA no doubt helps, it's legacy, and nostalgia. The 12C is my primary calculator for uni, partly because it's the only RPN calculator allowed, and partly because it's a very capable machine. Then the 17BII+ ought to be the top of the line, "do everything" calculator? But it doesn't cover the range of the inbuilt functions the other two calculators have (no break-even, no probability distributions for example, which the 10BII+ has)

To me the 30B seemed like a more capable "do everything" (well, everything a finance/economics/business/accounting student might need to do) machine. Does anyone know where HP saw the 30B sitting in the hierarchy; was it designed to replace something else, or was it going to be a continuing line? And why did they ultimately decide to discontinue it but continue on with the 17B?


Thanks,

Zac