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HP 17BII+ Financial Calculator | List Price: $119.95
Discount Price: $75.98
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Brand: Hewlett-Packard
Binding: Electronics
Features: - 2-line by 22-character LCD
- Over 250 built-in functions
- List-based cash flow analysis
- Alpha and numeric keyboard
- HP Solve customizing method
Very Poor Quality / Unreliable [Posted on 2007-11-04]
This calculator is very cheaply done and manufactured. The buttons click but do not work all the time, leading to frequent mistakes. Eventually, my calculator went down after six months of light usage. A very poor purchase!!!
Excellent Financial Calculaor [Posted on 2008-02-24]
I need to use a financial calculator periodically, but not on a daily basis. That means I need a calculator that is easy to learn and use. Over the years I have had 3 HP-12C's (and they all still work great, and the original is still the best built calculator I have ever had). Still, I found that I would forget how to use functions I did not often use. I also had an HP 10B (first generation) that I loved until I gave it to my wife.
Needing to replace the 10B, I tried a Texas Instruments TI-BA II plus. Big mistake. While the calculator had a sturdy feel, the buttons were squishy and I found that I (or the calculator) was making data entry errors. Also, trying to go back and forth between the TI and the HP-12C's was driving me crazy because they were just enough different in their ways of doing things to throw me off.
So I broke down and went for the 17Bii Plus. It is very lightweight -- and feels a bit too insubstantial, However it sits firmly on a desktop to allow one hand data entry. The keys feel solid (far better than the keys on the TI-35) and data entry is once again easy and error free for me. As a two line calculator, most financial functions are performed by use of menus. I love it! It makes those functions far more intuitive and easy to remember. I still find that I need to refer to the manual the first time I want to do a particular calculation. But I also see that once I have done a function once there will be much less running to the manual to re-learn how to do a calculation I have not needed in a while. I like it so much that if not for the cost I would replace my beloved HP12-C's.
Like the HP-12Cs it is programmable. But unlike the HP-12C, where I could never learn to program on it, programming a calculation that I am doing over and over is simple enough on the 17Bii that I could see myself doing it; and with the two line display, once you have programmed a calculation it is amazingly easy to re-use. Hard to explain, but easy to do.
One final comment. HP calculator reviews by users on line are full of criticisms from old HP users, who claim that the new HP calculators are cheaply made, not as substantial as the old models, etc. There is no doubt that the build standards of HP calculators have changed over time and that on practically any model there is an older version that was heavier, more solid, had a better feel. But it is pointless to compare the HP calculators of today to older models. If HP's current business calculators (12-C platinum edition and 17Bii+) are compared to other popular financial calculators currently made, the HPs are still the best by far, particularly for error free data entry. And truth be told, the HP-17Bii+ is much faster and easier to use by far for the casual user than the old HPs.
Terrible upgrade [Posted on 2008-03-27]
I have used HP's 17BII calculator for almost 10 years. When I saw the upgraded version of this calculator I thought I must have it. It will be a great thing to have since HP produces excellent products and after 10 years of continuous service my previous calculator could be licensed. So I sold my old 17BII calculator and bought this upgraded model. Upgraded? Well, it only has one new function: Currency Exchange, which is not a major feature since anyone can calculate currency exchange without the help of this function. If HP created this new function thinking about travelers they were wrong. Who would carry a bulky calculator in order to calculate currency exchange? However, there are other upgrades in its design that are plausible and that make it a fair deal, especially if your old calculator is a little worn out. The thing that I dislike about this shift is that I have used this calculator for 14 months and now the sum key (+) does not work. That is right, 14 months and this calculator is not able to perform a basic operation. I called HP and they do not have any official representation in my country so I went to an unauthorized dealer that says that this can be fixed by changing the keyboard matrix, a USD70 deal. What a deal!!! I can buy a new calculator for USD80 or fix mine for USD70. Guess what? I am buying back the 17BII version and forgetting the Currency Exchange feature. I miss the times when HP manufactured durable goods and not disposable ones.
Review for HP 17 B II [Posted on 2008-04-14]
Following, is the letter that I sent to HP headquarters regarding my experience with the HP 17BII:
Dear Sirs, I am writing this email with the spirit of a loyal customer of 15 years. Last month, during a business trip, my financial calculator 19 B II broke. I was desperate because I had become so used to work with it. I browsed the HP web site to learn which was the most sophisticated financial calculator these days, and I learned about the 17 B II. I asked a friend to bring it to me from the US and so she did. I have been using it for 3 weeks, and only with a spirit of loyalty to you, must say that I find this calculator dramatically inferior to those HP calculators that I bought 15, even 20 years ago, both financial calculators and scientific calculators. The 17 B II is not only inferior in the amount and type of operations that can perform compared to the 19 B II, but is also inferior, in it`s raw materials. The key for number 3, must be pressed with so much strength as if I was drilling for oil in order to make it appear in the screen. Finally, this calculator takes literally
3 seconds in calculating the result of 2 X 2. I have been considering to search for the HP scientific calculator that I had back in college, 15 years ago, and program in it, the financial formulas that I need today. Again, I am not saying this with a bad mood or just for the sake of complaining, but rather because if I worked in the company, I would like to have this kind of feedback. Best regards, Constancio.
Find something else but not a HP 17bII+ [Posted on 2008-04-23]
Once a proud owner of a 19BII this is about as close as you get as a replacement. It is not worth the money. The buttons work poorly so you must exercise extreme care when keyboarding or you will have input errors. Today the display cracked not due to abuse but the clasp for the case hits right where the display broke. HP will not replace this calculator because they consider this abuse or customer damage versus a poorly thought out design. I am going to try TI after this disappointment.
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