Re: HP-15C LE replacement shipped Message #25 Posted by Gerry Schultz on 14 Nov 2011, 9:17 p.m., in response to message #24 by Lincoln R.
I hate to say it but the only practical solution for HP is to institute a replacement program. If you've registered your 15C LE (or not) and you contact them with a complaint about it (either software or hardware), they will send you a replacement and not even bother with your old unit. They might request that you exchange your bad unit for a new one, but all they will do is dispose of it. It's just too expensive for them to do anything else and they already have customers who are angry about a brand new calculator that has problems. I own 4 of these 15c LEs and I left two of them with Tim back in September. I'm sure when new calculators are issued that have the excessive current solved, the bad keys replaced and the firmware upgraded, he will send me replacements. I should send him an email asking how it's going.
The real question here is HP going to provide a path for us die-hard owners to upgrade the firmware for the LEs we already own? They can but I would think the concern HP would have is a third-party using the firmware upgrade to build near perfect clones of the 15C LE at a 10th of the price (though I'm sure the keyboard and display will suck).
Also, remember, HP has made these programming cables available to allow us to re-program the 20b and 30b calculators with WP34s firmware, not perform firmware upgrades to existing units. There is no liability for HP to have a customer reprogram a perfectly good 20b/30b. I know the original 20b firmware is available but the 30b firmware isn't available as far as I know. If HP releases a firmware upgrade to the 15C LE and the average customer has no idea how to do this (How do I hook a D9 connector to my Win7/Mac PC? What is FTDI?), who will the customer become angry with?
I hope HP surprises me and does both, but I'm not holding my breath.
Gerry
Edited: 14 Nov 2011, 9:20 p.m.
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