HP 71 vs 71B

[megarat]

Greetings. I apologize if I'm asking a question that is common knowledge, but my searches on this topic were fruitless.

I've recently become a big fan of the HP 71B, and noticed that the packaging and manuals describe the calculator/computer as the 'HP 71' (sans 'B'). The manual even shows a unit with a badge that says '71'.

What's the background on this? Were HP originally intending to call this unit the 'HP 71' but changed their mind? And does the 'B' has meaning? (I presume it means 'BASIC', but please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Thank you.

[Leonid]

The similar topic: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...read=54341

[megarat]

(11-27-2018 05:09 PM)Leonid Wrote:  The similar topic: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...read=54341

Very interesting, thanks.

[Dave Frederickson]

(11-27-2018 05:09 PM)Leonid Wrote:  The similar topic: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...read=54341

... and here's the HP-44A.

http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/attachment.php?aid=3006

[megarat]

(11-27-2018 05:18 PM)Dave Frederickson Wrote:  

(11-27-2018 05:09 PM)Leonid Wrote:  The similar topic: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/...read=54341

... and here's the HP-44A.

http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/attachment.php?aid=3006

Interesting. I wonder why they changed it from 44A to 41B.

[EugeneNine]

More modern HP stuff the A/B/C suffix was usually a small product differentiation. Take an inkjet printer and the A might have been a typical retail channel model and came with some software for making "holiday" cards and such. The B model might have been a VAR reseller and the enclosed CD would be webjetAdmin. The C model would be the Walmart one with no additional software for extra cost savings.

Could it have been similar back then, just different packaging/options?

[Dave Frederickson]

(11-27-2018 08:09 PM)EugeneNine Wrote:  Could it have been similar back then, just different packaging/options?

Or, ...

(12-26-2015 10:25 AM)Jurgen Keller Wrote:  From Gary Friedman's book "Control the world with HP-IL", page 7:
"The HP-71 is a rather deceiving machine. It was originally designed to be a more powerful replacement for the 41 (it was originally called the HP-44), and I guess that during the development process they just got carried away. ..."

So my guess is that this is a prototype of an HP-71.

[Raymond Del Tondo]

(11-27-2018 08:09 PM)EugeneNine Wrote:  More modern HP stuff the A/B/C suffix was usually a small product differentiation. Take an inkjet printer and the A might have been a typical retail channel model and came with some software for making "holiday" cards and such. The B model might have been a VAR reseller and the enclosed CD would be webjetAdmin. The C model would be the Walmart one with no additional software for extra cost savings.

Could it have been similar back then, just different packaging/options?

Or take a ThinkJet inkjet printer, where the different options (A,B,C,D,P) stand for different interface types (HP-IB, HP-IL, Centronics, Serial, Centronics battery powered;-)

See: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bpd02084