The programmable calculator the HP-30b should have been

[Joseph_21sv]

(09-08-2014 05:12 PM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  

(09-08-2014 04:51 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  The overlay was because that printed top surface piece needed a very, very long lead time and programming wasn't yet complete.

It is now :-). To difficult to update this design?

Joseph_21sv Wrote:But don’t you agree that the 30b smacks more of programmable calculator firmware for the 20b than a calculator of its own?

In addition to what Tim said, there's an interesting mistake in the first edition 20b manual, mentioning programmability. Just think of this couple as twins with one of them having its legs ablated.

That just begs the question: If HP made that mistake in the first edition 20b manual, why is the Business Professional calculator numbered 30b rather than 20bII? In fact, why didn’t HP just make the 20b originally programmable like the whole world thought they must have intended to do from seeing that mistake?