NEW: HP 15C Collectors Edition

[JDW]

(05-03-2023 02:25 AM)metcalfdds Wrote:  Well, I just ordered one, but, holy cow! €37 for shipping to US? Oh, well.

It's excessive, and here's why.

The Swiss Micros DM15L is a 15c clone that costs US$156 at today's exchange rate, and shipping from Europe to an address in the USA costs a mere US$18. Sure, that takes a few weeks to arrive, but hey, at least they offer a lost cost option. They also offer DHL at a much higher price which arrives sooner, but some people like myself would rather have slow and cheap than fast and outrageous.

Speaking of Swiss Micros, one might wonder why the DM15L isn't the better buy. It's 30x faster than the original 15c, has a good amount of memory and comes with a 5-year warranty too.

For me, the lone reason I've not purchased a Swiss Micros calculator is because of the keys. I am perhaps rare among calculator lovers in this regard, but the look and feel of the keys means everything to me. I love the beveled keys on my 28S and 48GX, and to top it off, they are double-shot, which means the markings cannot wear off over time. If Swiss Micros had beveled keys, I MIGHT consider a purchase despite the lackluster printed markings, but alas, it is not so.

So the key advantage of the 15c Collectors Edition is, other than HP branding, the shape of the keys, and hopefully, the same click-feel too. The downside would be the printed markings versus the double-shot of the original, but that isn't as big a difference as the lack of a beveled shape on the Swiss Micros calculators.

Seriously, if I were running Swiss Micros, I'd have paid the extra money to make beveled keys. The Swiss are known for intricately designed mechanical watches, so it shocked the heck out of me to learn Swiss Micros didn't pay the same attention to detain when it came to the SHAPE of the keys, which matters the world to people like me.

KEYS MATTER.
(And so does the cost of shipping.)
:-)