HP 10bII Financial Calculator

I teach classes on how to use a financial calculator. Before teaching the classes, I spent 6 months evaluating other financial calculators including: the HP12c & 17b, the Texas Instruments BA II +, the Real Estate Master, Casio Financial and the Sharp Financial Calculator. Most of them cost less than $60. The HP10BII was the easiest to learn to use. And it's as powerful as you need until you get into complicated computations AND it's one of the least expensive! HP did it right with this one! And you determine your results algebraically like we all learned in school; not reverse polish which is very confusing. I liked it so much that I contacted HP & asked them if they would upgrade this model with a larger screen to include all five financial registers: N, I/YR, PV, PMT & FV so that you can see the current value in each register (to minimize errors). My all-time favorite was the discontinued Texas Instruments Financial Investment Analyst. The screen was large enough & contained all of the registers; making it easy to play "what if" games. The HP10BII stands out above all the others!

I finally replaced my first version HP 10B with this new HP 10BII recently. The original is still here with me, it is simply that the plus button started to not register every time I push it...but, I am not getting rid of it yet. The new 10BII has become my daily calculator (in finance biz) and it is nearly identical in layout, but with different button sizes, weight (much lighter...only thing I don't like) and a couple of button layout changes. This is really the best financial calculator out there and I never understood why anyone would want to use any of the other HP financial calcs...I have used them all. If you are looking for a functional, quality financial calculator, pick one of these up.

The calculator was shipped promptly. No complaints there. What I did object to was HP's way of packaging their products. The over-sized, thick plastic casing was extremely difficult to open and left dangerously jagged edges upon opening with scissors. These days, you would think HP would have come up with a more ecological way of packaging their generally great products. Compared to older HP calculators, the HP 10bII is lighter for its size--more lighter plastic? It comes with a leather sleeve case, which is also thinner than those that used to come with older HP calculators, and a user's guide. The keys are more rounded at the edges, when compared with those older HPs and they require a lot more pressure to register and give a much louder feedback "click" than those of older HPs as well. At times I have to redo calculations, because I have keyed in too fast and neglected to apply equally firm pressure to all keys entered, something I never had to worry about with older HPs. (Older HPs had a gentle, almost signature, entry "click" feedback that was quite reassuring.) Perhaps it's just a personal matter. The user's guide is probably not too useful to beginners to finance, as it offers relatively few examples and is perhaps a bit short on explanations. For the money, the HP 10bII is quite unbeatable. It has a slim design and appears to be well-built like other HPs. It is powerful and comes with a good number of built-in functions and should serve most practitioners in finance well. It is relatively simple to use and is quite user friendly, once you've found your way around and gotten used to the feel.

Though I haven't 'put it to the test', exhaustively going through all possible calculations, it is serving the purpose of a nice, inexpensive hand calculator. After my HP12c bit the dust (It only lasted 30 years; doesn't anything last, these days? <G>), I wanted to see what improvements might have developed over the years. I chose this because it was half the price of a 12c replacement. It looks well made - not as 'plasticy' as alternatives. Will it last 30 years? ... who knows? ... maybe I won't and it won't matter! The book is well written and thorough. Heck, what more can/do you expect for <$30?

No one is going to pull a financial calculator out of the box and be a wiz with it. However, with the proper tutorial this calculator is actually really convenient and easy to use. I began using it to study for my Financial Planning designation. I would say of all the components of the curriculum, I am most confident about my ability to get the right answer when it involves using this calculator. If you put the time in to learn how to use it and use it for what it is intended to be used for, you will find it to be a truly magical device!

This calculator works great. It's very easy to use, and comes with detailed instructions on how to use the functions. The buttons have a more responsive "click" (not noisy) which makes it easy to determine if you've pressed a function/button. Even with the more responsive press, the buttons are easy to activate. This calculator was required for my class and I'm happy I was able to find it on Amazon.com. Please vote up if this review was helpful!!!

My trusty HP 10B from college (22 yrs old) has finally had a issue. Certain number keys often do not register when depressed which is very frustrating. So I needed a replacement. I was VERY sad to learn that HP has stopped making the 10B. It had plenty of flexibility for almost everything I do as a Financial Controller without a lot of seldom used features to add clutter. On first glance the 10BII feels a little lighter (and cheaper built), is about the same size and the keys are a little larger than the original 10B. In short, after a week of use, I simply do not like it nearly as much as my trusty 10B. Here is why: 1. First and foremost, THEY MOVED THE CLEAR KEY! Why oh why would you ever move this consistently used button from its easily identified location in the bottom left of all keys. To add insult, in its location is now the On/Off button. While the Off function still requires a {brown} function key to work so that I am not turning it off with every single calculation, it is very frustrating to almost instinctively press the clear key to find it did nothing at all. Hopefully this will grow on me but I see no logical reason why that particular key would have been moved. Perhaps next time move the Plus key to the upper right to really irritate long time users. 2. The key depress feedback on the 10B was simply dreamy. It conveyed a slight but distinct feedback that the keystroke was sufficient which inspired confidence and contributed to speed. The 10B keys also required very modest force to depress. The 10BII however has definite feedback in the form of MUCH firmer buttons and a relatively loud "click" to let you know the button has been depressed and has registered. This feels (and sounds) cheaper and feels like it takes a LOT more pressure to assure the button registers which slows me down quite a bit. You could certainly hear a distinct click, click click symphony as the person seated next to you performs their calculation tasks with a 10BII. Some other functions are re-arranged as well but I do not use them nearly as much as the "clear key". There are 6 keys per row in the top section containing the financial functions on the BII compared to the B model. Hopefully this model will grow on me since I connect with the input logic HP uses in finacial function calculations. Hopefully it will last me another 22 years and have the same HP quality as the 10B. Time will tell. Update May 2012 : I have reduced the 10BII to 1 star. The item seems to have an issue with simply turning off during a calculation. Its almost as if the batteries are not seated properly and loose contact. I think it is time to simply scrap this item and try something else.

You are advertising the HP 10BII and I made an order and got the HP 10BII+ (plus) which had more functions but is not allowed when taking the CMA exam so wasted my time and money. These is no need to send it back and ask for a refund because I live in Jordan I'm better off selling it here than having it sent back to the states. The product it self is great!! better quality than the TI baII plus professional, not sure if it has more functions though.

Ótima relação custo benefício, recomendo.

La misma funcionalidad de las primera calculadoras hp financiera clásicas. Los terminados son excelentes y viene con su empaque original y sus guías impresas. Recomendable

Dem Taschenrechner wird in deutscher Umverpackung geliefert, auf deren Rückseite bereits einzelne Funktionen in deutscher Sprache dargestellt werden. Dem Taschenrechner liegen Kurzanleitungen, u.a. in deutscher Sprache, bei. Außerdem eine CD mit ausführlichen Anleitungen, u.a. wiederum in deutscher Sprache. Zu guter Letzt enthält die Packung eine hochwertige Lederhülle mit HP-Logo, die den Taschenrechner nicht zu eng, aber sicher umschließt.

E' stato un regalo per una persona che lo reputa uno strumento necessario; per chi come lui, vive e lavora con i "numeri"!!

アメリカ出張時に電卓を持っていくのを忘れて現地で買った10bの旧型を持っています。 機能面では一通りのことができるので特に不満はなかったのですが、本体のギシギシぺらぺらした質感が気になり、新型の10bII を買ってみました。 質感やタッチの点でかなりの進歩を遂げており、17bIIが新型になって質感が落ちたこともあって、製品ラインの中での差別化があいまいになったように思います。かつては10と17は大きな違いがありましたが、新型になってその違いが小さくなったということです。10シリーズはrpnには対応していないので、もちろんalgで問題ない人にとっては、ということです。