HP 12CP Financial Calculator

Just what my partner needed . Works great, needed it for his job. Replaced an older model that stopped working.Quick next day delivery. Reasonable price.

If you're looking at this review, you are probably asking yourself what I was asking myself: Do I buy the HP12c or the TIBAII? A finance professor recommended the HP12c to me, then another finance professor insisted on the TIBAII. I purchased both, read 300+ pages of instruction manuals, and here's what happened:For almost every calculation, the HP12c, once you learn to use RPN (contrast with algebraic for you guys who don't know what I'm talking about) is sooooo much more comfortable and, more importantly, much faster. If I want to calculate standard deviation, I can chain the entire equation out without stopping or storing a single value--in other words, I never have to say "okay, gotta write this value down (or store it) so I can call it back up later when I need to add it to the next value". I did this on a statistics test and I was the first one done. I got worried because everyone else was still working on problems, but guess what? I was the only student using the HP12c, because no one wants to learn a new system--people are intimidated by RPN. Don't be: it's awesome.But on the other hand, the "worksheets" for the TIBAII are actually quite useful. HP12C doesn't have a default 30/360 setting for bonds (it can be programmed according to the manual in about 40 steps, which I'm still learning about). TIBAII has some conveniences like combination buttons and permutation buttons. But guess why? As I mentioned above, in the HP12c, you can chain those calculations without even thinking, so it doesn't need those buttons. TIBAII, with algebraic notation, benefits greatly from the added functions. So TIBAII appears to provide extra value that, frankly, is unnecessary if you use HP12c.I could give more examples like these. The TIBAII's worksheets allow for fool-proof entry and give a few extra results that are "useful" [meaning, useful for the TIBAII, but HP12c users are doing them quickly from memory] (discounted payback, multiple IRR, NFV--i have the plus professional-- for example).Who should use the HP12c? Well, from my experience, people who are good with numbers and want a device that keeps up with their computational instincts use the HP12c. As I mentioned before, you can chain together some seriously long computations in cool ways. If you are not that type of guy, it's not going to be that useful for you--the thing is, I would argue that the HP12c can turn you into that kind of guy. The possibilities, once the system is learned, are great.The TIBAII is definitely a "safer" calculator. It is also more technologically advanced. The worksheets have value. They give you useful outputs (useful for the CFA, yes). But the HP12c user will tell you(rightly) that some of these are crutches that will result in you forgetting how to do the calculations (combinations, permutations).Here's what I've done: I use the HP12c for everything I can, and I use the TIBAII for the 30/360 bond worksheet (and the discounted payback and a few other features that would save time on the CFA).So my goal is to use the fastest always, and to always give priority to me KNOWING a calculation--not blindly relying on a button. HP12c is the overall winner, but the TIBAII has a minor role on my desk.Buying both calculators is really not that big of an expense.One final note: the layout of the HP12c is so much more fluid than TIBAII's lame scientific-calculator look. Every time I pick up the HP12c, I esthetically enjoy it. I have the platinum version, and man does it feel good.Good with math? Need a tool that allows you to exress that? You need HP12c's RPN. Like the safety of support? Like extra features you don't have to know how to calculate yourself? Need the 4-5 things that TIBAII offers quickly (for the CFA, for example?)?: buy the TIBAII. Are you like me? Want the RPN but also need that 30/360 bond worksheet? Use HP12c 95% of the time, then pick up the cheaper-feeling, plastic-y, scientific-y TIBAII (which is, nonetheless, a good product).One final thing: Once you learn RPN, you will be ruined for algebraic. The fact that I say that should tell you a lot. When I use algebraic on the TIBAII, I find myself thinking "what idiot would actually prefer this crap over RPN?" I know I shouldn't, but I now tend to assume people who are bad at math would naturally avoid RPN and the HP12c. Again, that's a very biased statement, but one that, even acknowledging it's biased, I still say.Okay amigos, let the comments begin.

I am not ashamed to admit that one of the primary reasons that I prefer this calculator - really the HP 12c series in general - to the alternatives is the fact that it looks like an instrument designed for professional use, as opposed to what one might find in an eighth grade science class. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons that this calculator is king.I used the HP 10bII Financial Calculator for years, and was quite content. It was only after I signed up to sit for one of my industry's designation exams that I realized the poor old 10bII was not an approved model. My options were the Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator and the HP 12c. Due to my aforementioned desire to avoid looking like I was using the same calculator I owned in grade school, I went with the 12c Platinum.While I was initially frustrated by the calculator's use of Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) - which can be switched to an Algebraic mode on the Platinum model - I have come to appreciate the much more efficient RPN. I realize that time is rarely of the value that it is in a test taking environment. However, if you are considering this calculator for an exam, I can assure you that it will save you time which, when it comes down to it, will probably be much more valuable to you than the $40 price differential between the BA II and the 12c. Even outside of the exam room, if numbers and calculations are your business, it just makes life a little easier.The manual that accompanies the calculator is great. It provides everything that one needs to understand the full operating capacity of the calculator, as well as some helpful walk-through examples. I do wish that it was a physical manual instead of a CD. Not a huge drawback, though. Again, if you are purchasing this calculator for an exam, it will be well worth the effort to spend some time perusing the manual to determine which functions and shortcuts will make your life easier. Believe me when I say that, if used properly, some of the ignored functions of the 12c can be a real boon in certain situations.I do have to say that I have had an opportunity to handle a 12c from what was probably 20 years ago. It did feel like it was of a higher build quality than the 12c Platinum that I recently purchased. It is unfortunate that the new calculators do not possess that same feel, but the reality is that even the new 12c series calculators are, in my opinion, of a higher quality than their peers. Not as good as they were, perhaps; but still the best currently available.Do yourself a favor and get this calculator. I honestly do not believe that you will regret it.

I started using the HP 12C calculator while still working 20+ years ago. Since then I have purchased 2 of them, the most recent being this month. My prior calculator still works, but I have to take it with me when doing my volunteer work. So I bought this new HP 12C to have at home. The reason I love HP is because it uses RPN (HP Reverse Polish Notation). The RPN calculator, pioneered by the HP-35 in 1972, uses a mathematical notation where operators follow the operands, allowing for efficient calculations without parentheses, and is known for its stack-based operation. I find it much more intuitive than other calculators and will only by HP.