Why are the HP Prime and HP-35s so unpopular?

[aurelio]

(02-20-2021 05:48 AM)Roberto Volpi Wrote:  

(02-20-2021 01:25 AM)mfleming Wrote:  If I correctly recall Tim's explanation of the situation years ago, they did have access to the source code, which was poorly organized, and sparsely commented in Chinese. The "well documented" bugs were unknown at the time the 35S was released of course. Once known, to go back and correct the bugs well after the project was closed would have required nearly the same investment in software development that management was unwilling to make when the initial outsourcing decision was made.

Most of those complaining about quality either don't understand economics (margin) or didn't experience the impact of outsourcing after the Tech Crash at the beginning of the century (mass layoffs). Compare margin and team size now to that when the original HP-35 was released.

You are perfectly right!

Before ranting of "HP does not care about their products" we should take into account that calculators are approx. 0,1% of current business at HP.

HP is still in the programmable calculator business either because some old model still sells enough (ex. 12c) without bothering, or because of the educational niche, like the HP35S, that is a way to promote HP brand among young people.

HP cannot be arsed of the opinion of old sports, users of the HP41 in the '70s, who do represent a meaningless fractional part of its already reduced calculators business.

Maybe you are right and true that times have changed, but it was also a question of brand and image. When my father ordered his first HP calculator forty years ago, choosing that brand instead of a CASIO or TEXAS unlike other colleagues, he was pretty sure without even tested it, that he would buy the top, because so had been for the other HP tools and istruments daily used