HP Releases Classic Calculator iPhone Apps

[sushi]

I would venture to say, that the HP versions emulate/simulate their real counterparts exactly where as the other HP calculator copies do not.

The reason is that the HP versions use the same algorithms as the real HP calculators. My guess is that the other versions do not so the answers may vary at times. With the HP versions, the answers will be the same. That's worth something for those who need the accuracy.

 

[grayskies]

wanted

I've wanted a ti emulator of the 89/voyager for some time.

I have a voyager (which I love), but I figured with the advantage of the iPhone touch screen it would look nice. Plus, I always have my iPhone with me. Is the iPhone capable of running a CAS?

 

[Foxglove9]

As cool as I find that, I would never pay that much for it.

However, if they made Nintendo Game & Watch's on the Touch, I would definitely pay to have a bunch of those.

 

[DotComCTO]

The HP pricing is nuts. Take a look at the HP 10bII, 11c, 12c (classic and platinum) from R.L.M. on the app store. I've been using their 12c version for $4.99, and it works extremely well.

If you're looking for the 15c, the one from Thomas Fors is $19.99 ... $10 less than HP.

I suspect HP's pricing will come down not too long from now...



--DotComCTO

P.S. Agree on seeing HP-48 emulation!

 

[wizard]

Your rant isn't supported by any of the facts.

Oh and another app I wont be downloading.

Good for you! Have you stepped back to consider that just maybe the app isn't for you?

The app store ....bringing thousands of useless apps to you each and everyday because at apple, its not a quality, Its about quantity.

Now that is by far the biggest load of crap I've seen in a long time on this forum. First; Apple isn't bringing the apps to app store developers are. Those developers are happy to be there everyday because for many it is what pays for the bread and butter. Second; the apps aren't that expensive if you consider that HP is supportting them. Yes I said supporting because some people depend on their calculators to produce correct answers. Third; like it or not HP was always considered the quality leader in calculators.


Dave

 

[Crotalus_Joe]

I don't think anyone apart from people after nostalgia will be purchasing these. Certainly no one that actually does calculations for a living. After all, most people who do the kind of things now that were done by people with these calculators decades ago will be sitting by computers with software like Matlab on, which is a zillion times easier to use and more powerful.

Not all of us that use advanced calculators are tied to our desks all day. there any been many times that i have been away from the office and would have liked to have my 48sx to use. I dont always have a laptop, computer or calculator available but i almost always have my iPhone with me.

Right now i am using a free RPN calculator because i "think" in RPN and it is far easier for me to use than a regular calculator. I think the power and functionalilty of the 48 or 49 series calculators in the size of the iPhone is well worth the price for people like me who need and would use it.

 

[unkle77]

i personally think this is a great deal.

12C retails for $69.99, here they are giving you the calculator for nearly 75% off... what is there to complain about?

 

[rickdollar]

How long will HP support the app?

The difference between these apps and their hardware counterparts is that the hardware will be with you for many years to come. The apps will probably be operational for a few years. Who knows. There are no guarantees. I've had my 12c for almost exactly 20 years. I suppose if I used the 12c on a daily basis it would be a no brainer. But for me, I'll stick with the original.
It's funny what the person said earlier about it being $.99 and having a two star rating. That's exactly what wouldd happen. I can see the reviews now now. "Stupid. This calculator doesn't have an equals sign. I can't even get it to add. What a POS!"

 

[anubis]

Let me know when Wolfram releases a full Mathematica app, Maplesoft releases a full Maple app, and Mathworks releases a full MATLAB app. Any of those would be worth $30 or more. Not some crappy financial calculator. (Although, I do know lots of people, especially accountant and financial types, who are obsessed with those HP calculators.)

 

[HeadForTheHills]

HP would have been applauded if they had not been so greedy

I'm still using my physical HP-15C from time to time and I really hope HP release a new hardware version of it so i can keep one at home and one at work.

In it's day it was the best engineering calculator that could be used in exams ( i.e. no alpha-numeric capabilities ) and provide complex number and matrix functions ( even complex 2x3 matrices for solving simple electrical circuits) that remains it's unique selling point.

There are better ipod/phone options for much less, such as the HP-41CX emulator. So I will not pay $30 for the ipod version.

The clear message I want to send to HP is stop being so greedy and charge appropriately (~$10).
There are lots of HP-15C simulators out there as the ROM was essentially abandon-ware only months ago.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

How silly. These prices are absolutely ridiculous. I find it amusing that a company would even go forward with something that is destined to fail.

Oh wait...Microsoft does it all the time. My bad.

 

[mgamber]

IT IS A SAD SAD DAY!!!! to know Micro$oft has iPhone APPs

(quickly checking out iTunes store to see if it is true!!!!) hehehe

Why? If it wasn't for Microsoft Office, there wouldn't be a decent office suite for the Mac. It's been argued that Office is why OS X still exists. And being all indignant doesn't make it less true.

 

[pimentoLoaf]

I don't think anyone apart from people after nostalgia will be purchasing these. Certainly no one that actually does calculations for a living. After all, most people who do the kind of things now that were done by people with these calculators decades ago will be sitting by computers with software like Matlab on, which is a zillion times easier to use and more powerful.

Nostalgia was not on my mind when I bought both apps. RPN is far easier to slam equations through than any algebraic model. And since both are programmable, they make for a quick-'n'-dirty way of figuring things. (And when you hold the iPT or iPh vertically, the display changes to a simple six function calculator with store and recall.)

Matlab and Mathematica may be the choice of professional engineers, but there are many others who simply do not need that kind of power.

 

[branjosef]

Good for you! Have you stepped back to consider that just maybe the app isn't for you?

Now that is by far the biggest load of crap I've seen in a long time on this forum. First; Apple isn't bringing the apps to app store developers are. Those developers are happy to be there everyday because for many it is what pays for the bread and butter. Second; the apps aren't that expensive if you consider that HP is supportting them. Yes I said supporting because some people depend on their calculators to produce correct answers. Third; like it or not HP was always considered the quality leader in calculators.


Dave

HP produces good calculators-You are correct. This is just an app I find useless- deal with it DAVE !!

 

[joeblough]

does anyone here understand the lineage of the various 10C apps that have been available for the iPhone over the years?

there were 2 jailbreak apps, or rather, a family of jailbreak apps for each type of calculator, and a different app that came a bit later that was an all-in-one (11C-16C) solution.

i think the family of apps became the Thomas Fors version that's on the app store. the other one was hosted on google code (hpvoyageur). that app apparently was rejected from the app store, and furthermore google took down the project page on a DMCA violation.

now what i don't understand is, assuming HP filed the DMCA violation, why are the thomas fors apps okay and hpvoyageur is not? i can only guess that the thomas fors apps are reverse engineered, and the hpvoyageur is using an emulator + the roms from the original calculators.

i have to agree that the pricing is steep. if HP did an all-in one 10 series app with 12C, 15C and 16C, i'd gladly pay what they are asking for the 15C app.

 

[HeadForTheHills]

i have to agree that the pricing is steep. if HP did an all-in one 10 series app with 12C, 15C and 16C, i'd gladly pay what they are asking for the 15C app.

I'm with you on the 3 calculators app bundle. At $30 would be a hit.
The HP 12, 15 and 16 are individually highly specialized calculators with very little overlap ( Business, Engineering and Bit-Bashing ).
As well as a real HP-15C I have a HP-16C, but never bought the HP12C.

 

[joeblough]

I'm with you on the 3 calculators app bundle. At $30 would be a hit.
The HP 12, 15 and 16 are individually highly specialized calculators with very little overlap ( Business, Engineering and Bit-Bashing ).
As well as a real HP-15C I have a HP-16C, but never bought the HP12C.

yeah, i have 2x11C, and 2x12C. i've always wanted a 16C but they are so expensive.

anyway i don't expect much downward price pressure on the official apps - the kind of people that use these calculators can probably afford the $30 and HP probably thinks the pricing is a bargain compared to the real calculator.

 

[pimentoLoaf]

Didn't TI make a programmer calculator at some point?

I can't imagine HP being the only one.

 

[joeblough]

Didn't TI make a programmer calculator at some point?

I can't imagine HP being the only one.

maybe, but the thing is once you start using an RPN calculator, you'll never go back to an infix calculator. so it doesnt matter if TI made one or not

 

[sushi]

maybe, but the thing is once you start using an RPN calculator, you'll never go back to an infix calculator. so it doesnt matter if TI made one or not

That's true.

RPN rules!

 

[DotComCTO]

i personally think this is a great deal.

12C retails for $69.99, here they are giving you the calculator for nearly 75% off... what is there to complain about?

The price. There are other options in the app store that have been delivering these specific calculators for quite some time...and at a *much* lower price. The 12c calculators from R.L.M. sell for $4.99. I've been using it for ages and it is spot on.

Again, I'm betting on a lower price from HP in the not too distant future.



--DotComCTO

 

[DotComCTO]

does anyone here understand the lineage of the various 10C apps that have been available for the iPhone over the years?

there were 2 jailbreak apps, or rather, a family of jailbreak apps for each type of calculator, and a different app that came a bit later that was an all-in-one (11C-16C) solution.

i think the family of apps became the Thomas Fors version that's on the app store. the other one was hosted on google code (hpvoyageur). that app apparently was rejected from the app store, and furthermore google took down the project page on a DMCA violation.

now what i don't understand is, assuming HP filed the DMCA violation, why are the thomas fors apps okay and hpvoyageur is not? i can only guess that the thomas fors apps are reverse engineered, and the hpvoyageur is using an emulator + the roms from the original calculators.

i have to agree that the pricing is steep. if HP did an all-in one 10 series app with 12C, 15C and 16C, i'd gladly pay what they are asking for the 15C app.

I've been following the 10c apps for a long time. I believe that Thomas Fors must have paid some licensing fee to HP for the use of the HP ROMs in his apps. This is why he had to sell them at a higher price than he had wanted (which he mentioned on the Google code site). Personally, I got *very* lucky as there was another guy who put all the 10c HP calculators on the app store for free (it was removed within a few days of the posting).

Having said that, by the time that guy did that, I already had the 12c from R.L.M. - which, as I said, is well worth it. I'm going to hazard a guess the the other guys are not using the HP ROMs as a basis for the calculators. This is probably the reason some of these guys needed a few iterations to get the app working as expected.



--DotComCTO

 

[dangleheart]

I think HP is pricing it too high for the $1.99 iPhone/iTouch crowd. Less than 10 would be perfect. In fact, one can make a case then for buying a 3G iphone instead of the hw calculator. With the current pricing, it is not as attractive an argument.

Does wolfram-alpha have plans to release an iPhone app with their mathematica package. That would be very cool and a good competitor to HP since mathematica does a lot more than this calculator.

 

[RedTomato]

I don't think it's overpriced.

This is a highly specialist application, aimed at people who have been using these calculators for decades, and who probably earn far more than most of the people who have been complaining on this thread.

High quality professional tools are always expensive, and often don't look as shiny as the consumer version. Sometimes it's not clear why something is expensive, but the professionals who make them and use them know (or should do).

If the full OED ever comes out for iPhone, with a workable interface and full etymology, I'd gladly put down £40-£50 for it. As it is, I make do with WordBook which has etymologies for some of its definitions.

If you don't need the OED, there are plenty of free online dictionaries, but don't tell me they're the same as the OED.

 

[Lara F]

There actually is a full OED, unless it's missing something I'm not aware of:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=307233030&mt=8

If the link doesn't work search for Oxford Deluxe by Enfour (it's £33). The reviews on the US iTunes store are better btw...not sure what's up with that.