Your First Handheld?

[jebem]

(05-13-2014 01:16 PM)John R Wrote:  

(05-13-2014 03:54 AM)Mike Morrow Wrote:  It always amazes me when the first ten years of HP calculator design is held up as some sort of golden age. Whenever I hear or read of such an outlook, I'm pretty sure the person stating it has no real knowledge of HP calculator history...at least, as one who actually used them in contemporary times.

In HP calculators, as in other areas, it seems that many of us have a bit of clouded judgment: we tend to look back on the first ones we encountered with often irrational reverence, while holding later releases to an unfairly higher standard. Every HP calculator line has had its strong points and weak points, but you'd never know it just by listening to the people championing or criticizing that particular line.

Very true... I never saw a flawless machine, calculator or any other type, for that matter.
I believe it is in the human nature to demand perfection on the others, while overlooking our own faults.
But to be fair, and I used HP, Casio and TI in the 70's, the HP calculators from that era:

1. Had hardware built to a very high standard to last forever, when compared to Casio and TI models;
2. Had unique specific scientific, math, programming and peripheral features making them the tools for the scientist or engineer in a era where affordable professional computers didn't exist yet (mainframes were terrible expensive and only huge corporates could afford such big machines);
3. Had big price tags as a result, and for that reason many people, especially students, went for cheaper TI or even Casio machines.
   

However the math features of Casio and TI where not so diminished against HP, they are just different in the way it are used, and bugs/flaws exists in all these brands since the beginning.
In the end, yes, it is a matter of personal taste in favor of a specific brand and model, especially when it fits your current needs.