Retro Review: HP 10B Business Calculator
Company: Hewlett Packard
Type: Financial
Years Made:
1987 – 2000, mine was made in 1987
Batteries: 3 LR 44
Features:
* Time Value of
Money
* Cash Flows
(up to 15 can be stored)
*
Cost-Sell-Margin calculations
* Net Present
Value, Initial Rate of Return
* Linear
Regression
I paid $3.99 at
a discount thrift shop near Winchester, CA.
I saw the calculator at the store one year earlier and as luck would
have it, it was still there. It needed new batteries but other than that, the calculator
works great.
This is the
original HP 10B calculator, then one that started the line of the 10B family
(10B, 10BII, now 10BII+). Keep in mind
the current 10BII+ packs much more functionality than its predecessors.
If you are interested,
I have a review of the 10BII+ here (one of the first blog entries in this blog’s
almost six year history): http://edspi31415.blogspot.com/2011/04/10bii-review.html
The calculator operates
in Chain mode. In chain mode, the Order
of Operations are not operated on, with each operation is executed immediately.
An example is 1 + 2 * 3 returns 9 instead of 7.
However, there are parenthesis.
The DISP acts
like the FIX setting command.
The next
generation is the 10BII, which has the same functionality of the 10B. When I compare the original 10B to its next
generation 10BII (not the 10BII+):
* The 10B
keyboard is more readable than the 10BII.
I feel that the second shift key on the 10BII is almost a waste given
the two calculators have the same functionality. The purple statistic registers are hard to
read.
* I also like
the keys on the 10B better, the keys are a pleasure to touch and are
responsive. The 10BII keyboards tend to
be harder and on some of the production models, you almost have to press keys
hard on the 10BII just to make contact.
* Finally, the
style on the original 10B looks professional.
The 10BII looks a little cheaper.
If you want to
buy a 10B calculator, I highly recommend the original over the second
generation 10BII.
Eddie
This blog is
property of Edward Shore, 2017.
