HP-30B Business Professional Calculator

In financial services I used an HP19 (not II) along with its printer for year's. What sold me on the HP30b was the Black-Scholes calculations for option prices First off the construction, fit and finish of my sample is top notch. The display is sharp and clear under all lighting conditions and you can even adjust the contrast. The keyboard is tactile and responsive and I haven't seen any dropped or doubled entries. To those who are wailing away in multi step calculations without looking at the screen to validate their data and are getting mistakes, maybe you need paper tape. If you are consistently dropping keys your calculator is defective, get it replaced. HP did include a very comprehensive 34 page quick start guide which walked me through the "BASIC" functions of the calculator. Since documentation is no longer measured in pages but pounds companies have stopped killing trees, and right on PAGE ONE they direct you to [...] and highly recommend you refer to their users guide. Not only did I find the Users guide to be complete, but there is also a programmers guide along with Web based examples that will hand hold you through some very complex operations. There are also toll free numbers listed where a customer care operator would be more then happy to help you through any issues and answer any questions. This is the first financial calculator that has enough science functionality built in to go between accounting, statics, and engineering classes with out reaching for another calculator. More than enough horsepower with quick results. There are complaints that a most favorite function or calculation is buried behind layers of menus, shift buttons or bothersome keystrokes. There are only so many keys on the keyboard and HP has done an admirable job of keeping the most used features front and center. If I ruled the world I might have done some different, but there is good news. I did find that you can write short programs which will pull out buried functions like the built-in probability distributions, and assigned them to keys. Oh happy day, best of both worlds. And speaking of programming HP provided on a separate adhesive template a keyboard overlay of programming functions. These are additional function labels with just enough information to jog your memory. It's not required and can be left off if you don't want it cluttering up the keyboard. My HP 30b runs on 2032 coin cells or that is what they tell me. No sign of it needing replacement yet and I am so glad this is not something else that needs to be thrown on the battery charger daily. HP also included a handy slip case to keep the 30b clean and shiny. I would buy it again, but only if this one gets borrowed or stolen.

This another example of poor Chinese manufacturing quality. My model frequently malfunctions by reverting from RPN to algebraic mode on its own. I picked this up at a deep discount because HP decided to discontinue it. It's a powerful financial calculator that also has a sufficient suite of scientific functions for basic number crunching but it is unreliable. One big claim to fame of the HP 30b calculator is its ability to calculate option values using the Black-Scholes model. I believe this is the only financial calculator on the market that has this function built in. Certainly no other HP financial calculator currently available has this function. The Black Scholes function wasn't what drew me to this calculator because I don't invest in options. I was drawn to it because of the HP name and the RPN input format. This is where the let-down came in. HP is the ONLY calculator manufacturer making RPN financial calculator, so there isn't any choice there. The build quality of the HP30b is poor. It's comparable to the poorly designed and poorly built HP33c scientific calculator. I purchased this HP30b almost entirely because of its RPN logic, but guess what. After about a year or two of light use, the RPN setting on mine does not reliably stick. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, it reverts back to algebraic logic on its own after sitting on my desk a few days. I bought another HP30b and the same thing happens. If I didn't catch the change I would be greeted with a wrong answer during calculations. This kind of unreliability is simply intolerable. This calculator was not built to the same quality and reliability standards as the HP calculators that used to be manufactured in Singapore or Malaysia when I was in college in the 1980s. This could have been a factor why HP decided to discontinue this calculator.

I had my HP12C Platinum for about a year when its "Enter" key stopped working. Otherwise, it was a great calculator and I fell in love with RPN. So instead of purchasing an another possibly defective 12C, which costs twice as much as its competitors, I have decided to buy the HP30B, which like all HP calculators, does RPN. First, this calculator is somewhat on the large side. It is fairly thick as well. The buttons and the build quality seem to be better than the HP12C Platinum. The keystrokes have a very nice feel to them and the display is large and informative. As far as the speed of the calculations, this calculator is fast with no noticeable lag. The only part of this calculator that disappointed was its keyboard layout. I found myself entering way too many keys to make simple calculations. For example to get anything higher than a square (^2) exponent, you have to punch in the base number, input, exponent number, blue key, and the exponent key. With HP12C, it is base number, enter, exponent number, exponent key. Pressing that extra key in pressurized test situations is pretty annoying, especially if you need to do multiple of equations. The number of extra keystrokes is even worse when you have to factor by anything other than a square root. That involves base number, input, factor number, blue key, 1/x key, blue key, and exponent key. Wow and that can be really, really annoying. The keyboard is not laid out in an efficient manner, and that's too bad because if the keyboard layout was anything like the HP12C, I would think this might be the best financial calculator I have used (I have also used TI BA II Professional).

I won't lie, this calculator suffers certain quality control issues that plague other handheld calculators sold by HP (Note: the 35S, 17BII+, and 12CP are not manufactured in-house by HP, leaving only the 12C and Prime). Mine, for instance, will perform a factory reset after being turned off, about one-fifth of the times it is turned off. This means that I cannot reliably store programs, variables, or settings; I understand there are other issues that users have experienced as well, and of course it is sturdy and rugged as HP's calculators of old. However, HP has fixed the bug that would give incorrect answers, and that firmware is what has been loaded onto all the later produced machines, which is good. Despite its flaws, I must still say that it is one of my all-time favorite calculators. Its functions are a superset of all functions ever included in a financial calculator by HP (if you don't include timekeeping functions, that is). It includes functions for select statistical distributions, which are not included in any non-graphing calculator (however they could be programmed into certain devices, given a capable device and programmer). It has a very healthy set of scientific functions (some are buried in menus). It can store 10 data sets of x and y, 10 programs, 10 variables (not including those related to financial calculations), and a blazing fast ARM processor (which really can come in handy when computing IRR on cash flows). It has outpaced the 50g in the speeds of certain calculations. Included in the box was an overlay with programming functions that can be accessed when making a program by holding Shift and the button below. No stock photos on Amazon show the calculator with the overlay, but there are some to be found on the web some place (Note: the overlay is a sticker and is not intended to be removed and re-applied. You only get one chance to stick it on right, so make it count!). Bottom Line: this calculator has flaws, but I would take it over any other modern RPN calculator any day. Including the more expensive 17BII+ (with absolutely no contest). I only wish that someone would emulate this calculator for mobile, and that institutions would be more open to allowing this device on tests (check and see if this model is allowed for use for your intended purpose). Bonus: if you are into DIY, there are enthusiasts who have a process of flashing this model calculator to re-program how it works, and then attach custom key stickers, and call it the WP34S. Some of the modifications done are incredible, and the result is the most comprehensive calculator known to man. If you are not into DIY, then just know that they chose to modify THIS calculator because it simply has the best hardware (processor and memory) that a non-graphing calculator can get.

THE AWESOME: Unbounded Potential This *business* calculator can be re-purposed into the most-powerful *scientific* calculator in the history of scientific calculators (excepting graphing calculators, which are more powerful in some respects but also are heftier and tend to emphasize graphing and algebra functions over pure number crunching). The re-purposing is done by re-flashing (re-programming) the device. Web links cannot be included in Amazon reviews. However, the re-purposed calculator goes by the name of WP-34s (after the initials of the authors of the replacement software: Walter B & Paul Dale). Sourceforge hosts the project WP-34s, so check the info out there. The WP-34s improves upon the HP-41C/HP-42S and the newer HP-33s/HP-35s. It's rather ironic that a *financial* calculator sold by HP can be reprogrammed into a far more powerful *scientific* calculator than HP's own HP-35s, using software written entirely by enthusiasts not affiliated with HP. THE BAD: Criminal Non-Support and Mixed Quality I just had a very strange (and unpleasant) experience with HP "product support". I bought my first (brand new in sealed package) HP-30b in May 2011. The keyboard's quality was pretty poor, with quite a few keys that did not click at all... they felt very "flat" (all keys are supposed to click, by the way). Other than the keyboard issue, the calculator was perfectly functional during the few weeks I used it. Moreover, after a few months without being touched, the HP-30b died a spontaneous death. (This calculator was never repurposed as I indicated above, precisely because I did not like the feel of the keyboard. Last month 3/2012 I bought a second 30b whose keyboard is much better---product quality is a mixed bag!) I assumed the dead calculator was under warranty, so I called HP support. (It is April 2012 as of this writing, hence less than 1 year after my original purchase.) I was told that since the seller was not an "HP Authorized Reseller" (it was a Third Party seller in Amazon), and since the calculator had been manufactured in 2010, it was long out of warranty!!! I got some preaching on the demerits of "buying from non-authorized HP resellers" and I had to try really hard to avoid yelling expletives on the phone. I told the representative that I was obviously an idiot for not buying directly from HP at full retail price, meaning twice what I paid, and then I hung up. I want to emphasize that I received the calculator new-in-the-box with HP's "Security Seal" intact back in May 2011. Nobody can "fake" these calculators nor their HP-seal bearing boxes. The product I bought was legit. The only illegitimate thing going on is HP selling old-stock calculators through non-authorized resellers fully knowing they will not have to make good on their warranty in case of failure, as it happened to me. I own several of HP's current calculator models, including 12c, 33s and 35s. I have had good luck with their quality, so perhaps the defective 30b is a fluke, but that is no excuse for reneging on the warranty. Criminal HP! I had no idea that new-in-the-box electronics (with a dated receipt) could be sold without warranty, at least not without some *very clear* warning to that effect. I will try to seek a remedy from Amazon, and shall update this review accordingly. UPDATE: Amazon issued a full refund (as store credit) for the defunct calculator. I also got "free education" on so-called "grey market" purchases. One cannot take things for granted as a consumer, even if shopping at reputable (?) merchants (Amazon). In this regard, I am quite disappointed with the experience.

I don't know if HP made changes/upgrades to this model but it served me very well! (A+ in course). I downloaded a 35+ page instruction manual, printed it out and put it into a 3 ring binder. I spent about 15 hours going through each example until I mastered it BEFORE the course got into full swing. It certainly helped that I've earned an MBA in Finance before I took the course and very familiar with present value, future value, IRR and comparing different investments with different payoff schedules and amounts. BUT if you "patiently" sit down over several days (or week) you'll be able to use this caclulator effectievely and it will save you time... and help make money for you and your clients (if you have them). DON'T BE CHEAP... PRINT OUT COMPLETE DIRECTIONS ONTO REGULAR PAPER AND WRITE NOTES into your binder. It's better to have it printed than keep it on your phone or tablet or laptop only. Go to the "dollar store.... (well... ok... you can be a "little" cheap) grab a 3 ring binder and use it as your manual! - KEEP GOOD NOTES in your manual!

When I say re-programmable, I don't mean the built in HP-30b's programming ability, I mean totally overwriting the calculator's software with your own! The HP-30b is based on a pretty common AmTel ARM based System-On-a-Chip, which includes a number of interfaces: serial, A2D, SPI and GPIO. There is a public project that re-purposes an HP-20b or HP-30b as a programmable scientific called the WP-34S, over on sourceforge (just google it). Check out the manual or the emulator first if you're not sure. There are high quality overlays you can buy for less than 10$ to stick over the keys. check it out!

The build quality is absolutely abysmal on these and it's not hard to see why these were discontinued by HP. I'm having to return this one because the number eight key stuck immediately. Literally the first press of it and it stuck inside the machine. The value for money is extremely poor and the ease of use of the machine is non-existent because the build quality is so bad.

関数電卓を世界ではじめて開発商業化したHP社 有名なHP12cやHP35S、200LXなど数々の名機を世に送り出している この金融電卓は若干HP12Cとは、若干使い勝手が違うものの三角関数や対数が組み込まれており 金融＋関数電卓としては充分不可欠な関数が網羅されているといえる また、入力方式にHP伝統の逆ポーランド記述式(RPN)、通常入力、Chain入力方式が選べ 大きさも見やすい2段表示である 重さ 115 g 大きさ 77 x 149 x 16 mm 専用の革ケースは出し入れ簡単で高級感あり 表示方式の選択画面で小数点以下を必要に応じて表示 FIX=-1 金融計算の初期化 この2つの設定＆操作が最初わからなかったので、故障していると勘違いしてしまいがちです 理解して慣れればとても便利です しかし、HP12CやHP200LXに慣れていると両手で持って安定して素早く打鍵できないもどかしさや 10^x 1/x y^x などのキーがダイレクトに押せないもどかしさもありますが 金融電卓にそこまで望んでも仕方がないというよりは、三角関数や対数関数が入っていることに感謝したいです このHP30bはファームウェアを書き換えて、WP34S (HP42S生産終了品)に改造するキットが販売されています 将来性のある名機になると思います

Non scriverò una recensione sulle specifiche tecniche in quanto è la mia prima calcolatrice finanziaria e l'ho comprata per imparare. Il prodotto è comunque solido, arriva con custodia ed è anche gradevole esteticamente. Da sottolineare però la mancanza di un manuale in italiano, presente soltanto una guida rapida in inglese e francese. Il manuale completo non è di facile reperibilità, ed io l'ho trovato soltanto in inglese. Davvero ottimo il venditore Immineo Ltd, prodotto arrivato ben protetto e abbondantemente nei tempi di consegna previsti, tramite Royal Mail. Consigliato

Der HP30b ist eine solide Basis (m.E. besser und wertiger verarbeitet als der HP20b) fürs umflashen auf einen WP34s oder einen WP31s. Als finanzmathematischen Taschenrechner kann ich persönlich für die tägliche Arbeit nur den alten HP17bii oder den aktuellen HP17bii+ empfehlen (sofern zu Prüfungen zugelassen). Wer aber endlich einen WP34s/WP31s als realen Taschenrechner (nicht nur PC-Emulator) in den Händen halten will, der muss erst mal die Basis-Hardware anschaffen und da ist der HP30b ideal. Das muss jetzt nicht für jeden sinnvoll und nachvollziehbar logisch klingen, aber es gibt eben "Typen" die machen das einfach nur, weil es technisch möglich ist - Hobby - Basta! Preis (habe 25,- EUR bezahlt) und Qualität (Tasten und Display, Verarbeitung des Kunststoffgehäuses und das Kunstleder-Etui) sind schon o.k. Ja, auch ohne umflashen ist er bestimmungsgemäß als "Einsteigerrechner" natürlich auch als finanzmathematischer Taschenrechner gut zu gebrauchen und sein Geld wert und er kann UPN/RPN und hat sin/cos/tan Funktion u.a. was bei finanzmath. Taschenrechnern nicht Standard ist. Dafür fehlt eine Echtzeituhr (RTC), deren Quartz man für den WP34s auch erst nachlöten muss. Der Taschenrechner ist nicht so übel, wie er manchmal zerredet wird, es ist aber eben kein HP17bii+ und auch als WP34s/WP31s keine eierlegende Wollmilchsau.

contrairement à bien des avis je trouve les touches solides et fonctionnant bien après 6 mois d'utilisation quotidienne. A 26 euro pourquoi s'en priver alors que la 10bII + est à > 50 euro et qu'elle offre bien plus de fonction et de simplicité ?

A very good product for the money.