HP12C for $47.95 is math geek heaven

Posted on 12 June 2009 by


hp 12c calculator.jpg

Buy’s deal of the day is this HP 12C Financial Calculator. I’ve owned several and just between you and me I never had the slightest clue how to do anything but add or subtract on them. I always thought it made me look smart – so I carried it everywhere. If you need it for more than show this is the granddaddy of boss-impressing calculators. The HP’s 12c Platinum calculator is a natural for real estate, finance, accounting, economics, and business calculations. It features the HP 12c standard edition’s 130+ built-in functions and memory for 80 cash flows, complemented by a black and silver body, and embossed leather pouch. If you read the manual you’ll even learn how to program up to 400 steps and execute them with one push of a button. Over 130 built-in functions and two entry modes – RPN and algebraic. If you’re dad does anything remotely financial for his job – this is a great Father’s Day gift. Just writing this makes me feel smarter.

HP12C – $47.95 via FW

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- who has written 2131 posts on Gear Diary.

Wayne is a diehard Blackberry user and consultant specializing in Sage MAS90 Accounting Software. He lives in Glastonbury CT with his two children. When not helping them with their homework or pushing the latest school fundraiser off on his co-workers, he is active hiking, Scuba Diving and investigating all manner of technology.

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  • http://www.gamingwithchildren.com Michael Anderson

    OK … RPN-geek mode in full swing …

    The HP12C was actually introduced in ’81, meaning that it has been in constant production for 28 years! Imagine that in an electronic device!

    My first HP was a 41Cfrom the late 70′s, which I then sold to help pay for my Apple ][+ and bought a used 15C. I later got a 28C (which I still have) as a gift.

    Still later I got a HP 48SX … which I can’t believe is now ~17 years old … but I still use it fairly frequently.

    Also, the first thing I do for any PDA I’m going to use is put on a RPN-based HP Calc app.

  • Carly Z

    And if you need a financial calculator but nothing that complicated…I am quite partial to my 12bII. (Currently I am held hostage to it while using it for various things, so my fondness may be stockholm syndrome. But still. It’s more calculator-ish, but still has some excellent higher functions.)

  • reidme

    Wow does that bring back memories. I can’t believe they still make this model. Cool!

  • http://www.umich.edu/~dey datahoss

    Like Wayne, I never learned how to do anything advanced on my HP 12C (though I could multiple and divide). Never the less, I was once hauled out of a midterm exam in a statistics class because the professor was convinced I had programed it with all manner of majic to ace the test. It didn’t take long for my cluelessness to shine through, thankfully, and I was allowed to go back and finish the exam, though her concern did plant an idea I employed for the final…bring a different calculator.

  • rcgd13

    I use it almost everyday at work, even with a spreadsheet in front of me. I can’t use a regular calculator anymore… Very solid, will last forever. Great to determine loan payments, interest rates, etc. Spend 5 minutes just learning that and it is more than worth the money. Battery lasts forever.

  • Drew Guttadore

    How very funny! I just bought a replacement one.. The Platinum version.. Haven’t figured out the difference yet, but happy to have it.. My old one finally gave out.. The only caclulator I like to use.. :-)

  • http://www.gamingwithchildren.com Michael Anderson

    There are also of wonderful HP 12C calculators for the iPhone … personally I love the recently released i41CX … just went with the standard, not the one with expansions and printing, as I never touch that stuff anymore on my HP48