Re: reasons for delays (rant) Message #5 Posted by Driscoll on 31 Jan 2004, 12:41 p.m., in response to message #4 by ned
<< Only students will purchase the 33s in numbers acceptable to HP. >>
The 33S is designed for the student market. So are the 48GII and the 49G+. Same goes for the 9G, 9S, and 30S. Also the TI 83, 84, 89, and Voyage 2000, and all Casio and Sharp scientific and graphing models.
That's because the student market is the only one that counts any more. Professionals have ready access to PCs at work and at home; they don't rely on calculators the way they did years ago. Only students still use calculators as their primary number-crunching tools.
<< Don't be surpirsed if HP finally resigns to pulling the 33s altogether. >>
Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised if HP gives up on scientific and graphing calculators altogether. TI is too well entrenched in the educational market for the 33S, 48GII, and 49G+ to make an impact.
<< They are not making it for collectors, nor for the tech community. >>
Of course not. HP isn't making anything for collectors or for the tech community. Collectors have never been a significant market. The tech community used to be a very important calculator market, but is not anymore due to the ubiquity of PCs. If you walk through an engineering office or science lab today, you don't see calculators on the desks. You see PCs.
There is one group of tech professionals that can use the 33S: RPN users seeking professional licensure in engineering or surveying. HP48s, 49s, and PCs are all banned in the NCEES exams, so the 33S may become an attractive option by default (assuming HP can actually bring it to market). So there actually is some demand for the 33S in the tech community, although I doubt HP was planning for this. The 33S was in development before NCEES announced their current calculator policies.
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