HP 35S replaced (keyboard problems) Message #1 Posted by Tom Mathes on 3 Mar 2008, 11:01 a.m.
I finally got around to calling HP a few weeks ago about the problems I had with my 35S and it's keys. My unit had problems properly missing ENTER key, the 4 key, and less often some of the other number keys when they were pressed. I would always feel/hear a definitely click but the calc would't detect the keystroke. When I called about the problem, I was asked to send in the unit for 'evaluation'. I sent it to Beaverton, OR.
I got the replacement calc on Friday. The unit was sent from a warehouse in Los Angeles; total time it took from sending in the unit to getting a new one was about 3 weeks. The new unit was sealed like a regular retail package. If HP is indeed shipping new units without paper manuals then this unit is older stock. I got a unit with the manual in book form and the HP calculator story DVD.
This new unit doesn't have the same keyboard issues the old unit had (so far), but the gold Arrow key is definitely soft compared to any other key. It doesn't have the distinct 'click' feel/sound the others have.
I don't care what the HP people say about how much time they spent on engineering the keyboard; it doesn't show. The 33S is maligned but it's keyboard, while stiff, was consistent in feel and never gave me a lick of problem. Something got lost in translation between the design and the final product for the 35S keyboard.
BTW, if you have to call HP about the problem, do NOT bother calling the HP INVENT number. That will route your call to India, and if you have the experience I had it will make you laugh and growl at the same time. I got a rep, with a heavy Indian accent who said her name was "Jenny" (the laugh part). It took about 3-4 minutes to get it through her head that HP sells calculators and get the call transfered back to the US. If you have to call calc. support, call 1-800-443-1254, and selection option 3 and then 0. That will get you someone who is in HP calc support directly and will likely be a US based person.
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