Comparing 15c ans 35s

[MarkHaysHarris777]

If ever I might spend hundreds of $$$ dollars for an antique calculator, it would have to be the 15C, or the 42s, but for different reasons. I believe the 42s is arguably the finest calculator ever built, IMHO; but I like the 15C landscape (the reason I love RealCalc for my Droid). RealCalc has the 15C beat because it can be configured for multiple line display (I configure mine for three); also it can be configured to use an RPL stack (very convenient).
Comparing the 15C and the 35s is not fair (in fact its not possible); although, its also not fair to classify the 35s as an ultimately 'seriously flawed calculator'. The 35s is my go-to unit for everyday work & ~play; I have been grabbing that unit even over my Droid these days... its a very comfortable well organized easily differentiated machine with a very nice layout, elegant display, comfortable form factor (for my large hands) and very nice construction quality and curb appeal.
The serious disadvantage for the 15C is the one line display (same disadvantage for the wp34s). The advantage of the 35s is its large memory, flexibility (nice memory management), fully merged programming | equations, and conversions right on the front panel. Did I mention I love the display?

The 35s has some quirks, but I would not EVEN label it 'flawed,' nor 'buggy'. It is one of the finest RPN calculators I have ever used (I go back to the HP35) and its going to get used around my home and office for many years to come (I purchased two of them to help ensure that one of them makes it to the end of my bucket list); having said that, I (like many of you), was disappointed that HP outsourced the product to Kinpo and released it without adequate product testing (real community pressure). The disappointment does not prevent me from appreciating it for the elegance it has, nor does my disappointment prevent me from praising its qualities (and it is loaded with those!).

The 15C is a nostalgic relic of a by-gone era, an elegant curiosity and wonder like my grandpa's Comptometer. I love that Comptometer, but I don't use it, and I certainly don't want Felt and Tarrant Mfg of Chicago to rise from the dead and reintroduce it!

If possible (but not for hundreds) I would like to add a 15C or 42s to my collection of Comptometer-like devices (I'd like to find a Wang 700 too). But this is the 21st century. So for me, the 35s and 34s are my go-to units, while RealCalc and free42 are my virtual units of choice.

Cheers,
marcus