HP Forums

For those who complain that all major calculator companies cripple their products to fit education system rules, now there is a completely unlimited product from China, for good and bad. Hope the spelling mistakes like "DRG->RAD" are not indicative of calculation algorithms quality:

Copied from the Aliexpress site, with all the original spelling intact:

student calculator support functions as fellows:
1. music support
2. video
3. txt (ebook)
4. photo
5. calendar
6. FM
7. Voice recorder
8.emergency button ("=" button)



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000205111138.html


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000053507938.html

To be fair, the DRG-> label (cycle through D, R, G) looks like it merely got a bit too close to the RAD label belonging to the next key over, so possibly not a Deg->Rad typo. (But in that case, where are DEG and GRA at?) The description, on the other hand ... ("as fellows") uh oh.
And have a look at the arrow keys too, they are pointing inwards instead of the usual outwards. Why would you put the Up button in the lower position, the Left button in the right position, etc? That's bound to cause confusion.

Overall, with a keyboard layout mostly copied from Casio, a focus on children (music / video player, panic button), and a lack of full alphabet on the keyboard, this looks more like a cheaper Chinese knockoff of an already cheap Casio device than an actually useful calculator. And don't even get me started on menus - without dedicated function keys, it could be a touchscreen (yuck), or you're expected to reach all menus with MODE + arrow keys (or maybe digits), which would be Casio-levels of convoluted too.

Oh, and just spotted this: If OFF is a shifted function, why not a shifted function of ON? Sloppy production all around.

Hello,

there seems to be a market for these as this one is not the first of it's kind:

https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-14142.html
or
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-14157.html

If these things weren't so expensive (around 40 Euros on AliExpress) I would add one to my collection even if I will probably not have to sit any exam in the future where it could be of use.

Regards
Max

(06-04-2021 11:13 AM)3298 Wrote: [ -> ]And have a look at the arrow keys too, they are pointing inwards instead of the usual outwards. Why would you put the Up button in the lower position, the Left button in the right position, etc? That's bound to cause confusion.

Wow, inwards arrows are very funny! How did I missed them...

(06-04-2021 11:13 AM)3298 Wrote: [ -> ]Oh, and just spotted this: If OFF is a shifted function, why not a shifted function of ON? Sloppy production all around.

That's a holdover from a lot of Casios (e.g. fx-991EX) which they seem to be somewhat aping in the keyboard layout.

It is very sad that manufacturers do not take into account the needs of engineers. I don`t need mp3, FM, or voice recorder in such a simple calculator. If they released a TI-85 or TI-200voyage with these features, I would buy such a calculator even for $250. Currently, the ordinary cheap smartphone for $45 has all these features (including emulators with CAS) and even more.