HP 12C Platinum Calculator

Product Information

Since 2005, newer versions (F2232A) of the HP12c Platinum have parentheses on the blue-shifted functions of the STO and RCL keys. Designed to be an introductory calculator, it was still costly compared to the competition, and many looking at an HP would just step up to the better HP-11C. The HP-12C and its derivatives remains in widespread use today and is still available from Hewlett-Packard. Nearly identical in appearance, each model provided different capabilities and was aimed at different user markets.

HP has (as of 2015) never made another programmer's calculator, but has incorporated the 16C's functions in later calculator models. for backup purposes (and possibly to communicate with applications like PC-based HP-12C emulators) or to update the firmware.In 2012, SwissMicros (aka RPN-Calc) introduced a miniature clone named DM-12CC approximating the size of an ID-1 credit card (88mm× 59mm× 7mm). Hewlett-Packard retained the numerical analyst William Kahan of UC Berkeley, the architect of the IEEE 754 standard for floating-point arithmetic, to design the numerical algorithms implemented by the calculators. These keystroke programs, in addition to performing any operation normally available on the keyboard, can also make use of conditional and unconditional branching and looping instructions, allowing programs to perform repetitive operations and make decisions. As in the later revisions of the 12C, it features two parallel rather than only one CR2032 cells, but it continues to be based on the GPLB31A processor. All calculators used the same hardware, but differ in keyboard and firmware (which can be changed with an upgrade port).

Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. The first release of the 12c Platinum used a faster processor than the revision of the original HP-12C which was available at that time. By design, the HP-12C rounds up the number of payments to the next integer, which produces meaningless results when calculating fractional periods. It is HP's longest and best-selling product and is considered the de facto standard among financial professionals.However, the subsequent revisions of the original 12C which switched to ARM-based processors have reversed that speed gap. The 1977 October edition of the HP Journal contains an article by Roy Martin, the inventor of the simple method of operation used in HP financial calculators, which describes, in detail, the mathematics and functionality built by William Kahan and Roy Martin that is still used today. The available programming features differentiate between the various HP Voyager series calculator systems.

It was equipped with a Sunplus SPLB20D2 [1] [18] with a 6502 core, larger memory (for up to 30 CFj registers [17] and 400 program steps) and more built-in functions. Martin: Printing Financial Calculator Sets New Standards for Accuracy and Capability, HP Journal, October 1977 (29), pp. Although long being discontinued its continued popularity among users triggered Hewlett-Packard to offer a HP15c Limited Edition remake of the calculator in 2011 and a HP15C Collector's Edition in 2023. The Truly SC123 in 2015 closely resembles the HP12c Platinum as well, but in a vertical case layout. Over its lifespan, the proprietary bulk CMOS HP Nut (originally the 1LF5, then 1LM2) [1] processor's technology has been redesigned to integrate all the circuitry into a single chip (first the 1LQ9, then 1RR2) [1] and to refresh the manufacturing process (as the foundry could no longer manufacture the necessary chips, having moved on to making higher-density chips).In 2022, alongside the latest revision of the original 12C, Moravia and Royal also released a mostly cosmetic update of the 12c Platinum, with the words "Hewlett-Packard" removed from the frontplate, subtle adjustments to the layout and contact information on the rearplate, and a screw added to the battery compartment. Critics claim that its 1980s technology is antiquated, but proponents point out that it is still the de facto and de jure in high finance.