HP Forum Archive 19

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32sii Quality over time... Message #1 Posted by Michael Plant on 22 Sept 2009, 12:34 p.m. Just a quick question WRT the build quality of the brown bezel 32sii versus the silver bezel version. I have the latter and find it very flimsy feeling compared to my Singapore produced 42s. I'm wondering if the earlier brown bezel versions are noticeably more "substantial" feeling?

Re: 32sii Quality over time... Message #2 Posted by Frank Rottgardt on 22 Sept 2009, 12:56 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Plant my brown bezel 32sII made in Singapore is very good in terms of build quality. Perfect keys with good tactile feedback that never fail to register, face plate without fading colours or vanishing symbols, sturdy housing, no display glare. But it rocks slightly on the desk (all rubber feets in place) when entering numbers. Moderate daily use at work. Bought it used. The rubber feets were like new when I got it. So the calculator might not be owned by a power user.

Re: 32sii Quality over time... Message #3 Posted by Ed Look on 22 Sept 2009, 10:21 p.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Plant I am the original owner of mine, a brown bezel model made in Indonesia. I have had it now coming up on ten years. It still feels fine to me. The keys maybe are just slightly less snappy than the day I bought it, and that aesthetically pleasing Pioneer form factor case feels solid, reminiscent of my old Spice. The colors of the case, bezel, keys, and keyboard, along with the metal plated raised plastic lettering of the logo have not faded to my eye (of course, it's never out in the sun!). There is a little bit of heft to it, not like a Spice series nor a 50g, though. It's a very pleasing little calculator to use. It makes me wish I did have a 42S.

Re: 32sii Quality over time... Message #4 Posted by Mike Morrow on 23 Sept 2009, 12:37 a.m., in response to message #3 by Ed Look You should prowl ebay and find yourself an HP42S! With the economic downturn, prices are generally lower than I've seen in several years, unless the HP42S is new in the box! The HP42S 21 years after introduction is stunning. I thought that 12 years ago when I got my first one, and I still think that today. As for color scheme...it's like about everything else that HP produced after 1986. It's disadvantageous, ugly, and sucks big time. It's chosen only for left-coast artsy BS appeal. For the Pioneers, it's suck-butt orange on fecal brown! What could HP management been doped up on to come up with that? I'd love a HP42S++ that also had the capability of its worthy financial cousin, the HP17Bii, and the color scheme of the HP-15C. Almost perfection! Perfection would also require that the ENTER key be placed above the /, *, -, + keys, the way it was for pre-Saturn calculators. Putting those keys on the right and leaving the ENTER on the left for the Saturn era was absolute incompetent idiocy by HP! Apparently, the visual appeal of a keyboard with less effectivve key arrangement won. I'd like a mini-SD card too, but I doubt that the power demands of such a device could long be met by a calculator powerd by a 357 or 2032 battery. Edited: 23 Sept 2009, 1:03 a.m.

Re: 32sii Quality over time... Message #5 Posted by Michael Plant on 23 Sept 2009, 9:39 a.m., in response to message #1 by Michael Plant Thank you for your replies!

Re: 32sii Quality over time... Message #6 Posted by Patrick Rendulic on 23 Sept 2009, 11:46 a.m., in response to message #5 by Michael Plant I have an 12 year old Indonesian brown bezel model, almost daily use. It still works perfectly and feels wonderful. I don't like the silver bezel black ones. They feel cheaper and above all, the display response is far worse. Numbers don't appear instantly on the display of the black one when typing. That's annoying.

Re: 32sii Quality over time... Message #7 Posted by Michael Plant on 23 Sept 2009, 12:44 p.m., in response to message #6 by Patrick Rendulic Thank you for this - this is what I was looking for, a comparison of both. I'm bidding on some brown bezel units now... It's going to take me some time to pick one up, though, because I'm not in a position to pay the prices they are fetching on the auction site. However, with luck, one of my low ball bids will be successful at some point.

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