HP12C Financial Calculator - Black/Gold

There are many GBs of web pages devoted to the HP12c. Suffice it to say this is a brilliant financial calculator and I recommend it to anyone working in finance or banking. Yes, the spreadsheet is much more powerful and thanks to our phones, very portable. But this is designed to fit in your short pocket.The level of design is immense. The HP 12c has remained in production since 1981 and the user interface is unchanged. However, this version of the HP12c is super fast (it unofficially referred to as the HP12C+).The original physical technical architecture no longer exists so the software runs on an ARM chip. The batteries may not last as long (we are talking months… not daily recharging!) but I will take the speed any day.These calculators do not come with a manual but you can download the VERY comprehensive manual from the web. There is also an advanced manual called the solutions manual. These books are mini finance courses which introduce you to the HP12c.The calculator uses RPN. If you have used it, you will love it. If not, it is odd… but no one will ever take your calculator at a meeting. You need to learn RPN (there are videos to explain) but if you work through the instructions you will do that in no time… the trouble will be going back (it is faster than conventional calculations).You can write simple keystroke programmes for this calculator. This can be useful but in all of my years of using the HP12C, I have not written any elaborate programmes. These calculators can be “flashed” with a special cable (there is a socket in the battery compartment). I have not done this so I cannot comment on the process.The build quality is very good. These calculators are made in the Philippines. For this price, the HP12C is amazing value.

The gold standard in financial calculators! It came out in the 1980s (along with the HP-15C scientific calculator which I don't think is available). I am delighted that the HP-12C is still manufactured. And now it is a fraction of the price it once was. If you want a pocket calculator to work financial problems like PV, FV, PMT, IRR, etc., this is the best one I have ever used. Fact that it is still popular after half a century tells you a lot!

Best calculator ever for individuals in finance. Bought my first one some 20 years ago while in college

Excellent, great replacement for my old one from 1990.

Same as it ever was. A must have

HP12C for the win! If you need a financial calculator, this is the one!

My First 12C endured 31 years of use and abuse, I expect this one will outlive me.

I've always loved Hewlett-Packard calculators, even since as a youth I was allowed to play around with a family friend's HP-41C. I stil have my 17B II, but it was lost for a while, and during that period I decided to buy this 12C for basic calculations for bill payment and loans. I was a bit disappointed, but not surprised, to find out that HP no longer make the original, and that this is essentially an identically branded refresh of the original that uses a different processor, but I made sure to get the one that was pure RPN instead of the more recent hybrid RPN/algebraic one.Having used several HP calculators before, including the 12C, the first thing I noticed is that it's much lighter than the original, which I guess is to be expected because it also costs much less. However, it doesn't end there. The keys are shaped the same as the original, but the switches feel cheap. My vintage 17B II key switches have a soft, sumptous feel to them that's not clicky but still provides positive feedback. They ooze luxury. Not so with this refreshed 12C. There's a plasticky sound and shorter key travel. That by itself I'm able to deal with, but what ruins the experience is that the keys don't always register, or register twice when pressed. This makes it impossible to rely on this calculator for fast calculations (in my opinion the biggest reason to go with RPN). Halfway through adding a bunch of numbers I'll realize that one of the digits didn't register and I just added the wrong number, or the + double-registers and I wasn't watching the display closely enough and now my totals are off.So while this calculator is fully functional and can do everything the original 12C did (and do it faster due to an updated processor), I cannot recommend it simply because of the poor build quality, particularly the unreliable key switches. You can use it, but you have to pay close attention to make sure you're not missing something. As for me, I finally found my 17B II and will be using that instead.