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Hewlett-Packard Calculator Firsts

By: Richard Nelson

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Hewlett-Packard created the "pocket" scientific and financial calculator business with the HP-35 scientific calculator in February 1972, and the HP-80 financial calculator exactly one year later. From these amazing calculators, known for their quality and numerical accuracy, came many other models with calculator firsts that cover the three primary categories of technical calculators; Scientific, Business, and Graphing.

The user interface of Hewlett-Packard calculators is often called the logic system. There are four basic systems, Arithmetic, Reverse Polish Notation, Algebraic, and Command Line. Hewlett-Packard has made models for all of these systems because the best user interface is the one that gets the job done - most conveniently and the fastest. No matter what your calculation problem is, there is a Hewlett-Packard calculator suitable for any problem.

Hewlett-Packard calculators have been used on nearly every major scientific expedition to the far corners of the globe. Hewlett-Packard calculators are used by Real Estate, Finance, Accounting, Engineers, Researchers, Surveyors, Educators and Students worldwide. NASA has used three Hewlett-Packard calculators in space and Hewlett-Packard calculators have always been renowned for their numerical accuracy since the very first HP-35 and HP-80.

The table lists just a few of the Hewlett-Packard calculator firsts along with the model number.

Month/Year

First Feature or Accomplishment

Model

First calculator to include infrared

HP 18C

1/72 - 3/06

HP has the only product line the uses every logic system used for calculators¹

----

2/72

First scientific calculator to fly in space (along with the 65 and 41)

HP 35

2/72

First pocket calculator with a numeric range that covered 200 decades (10 ^+/-100)

HP 35

2/72

First pocket calculator to use scientific notation

HP 35

2/72

First scientific calculator to use RPN

HP 35

2/72

First scientific calculator shipped with a leather case

HP 35

7/73

First calculator with a built-in multifunction stop watch²

HP 45

7/73

First financial calculator

HP 80

1/74

First handheld to use a magnetic card reader for data and program storage

HP 65

1/74

First calculator to inspire the founding of a world wide club dedicated to HP calculators

HP 65

1/74

First calculator with three shift keys, f, f ^-1, & g

HP 65

1/75

First calculator with a built-in multifunction quartz crystal controlled stop watch

HP 55

1976

First "matched compatible pair" desktop and handheld calculators

HP 97 & 67

5/76

First "universal" scientific calculator, it included heavy statistics and business functions

HP 27

7/76

First calculator with continuous memory

HP 25C

7/77

First scientific calculator in a watch

HP 01

7/77

First calculator to keep time at a specified cost rate

HP 01

7/77

First financial calculator with Internal Rate of Return, IRR

HP 92

7/79

First calculator to include a true generalized solver and integration

HP 34C

7/79

First calculator with an operating system

HP 41

7/79

First scientific calculator with a full alphanumeric display

HP 41

7/79

First calculator with a beeper with controllable frequency and duration

HP 41

7/79

First calculator with complete unit-management system - Petroleum Fluids PAC

HP 41

7/79

First calculator to read programs and data from bar code using an optical wand

HP 41

7/79

First calculator to control hundreds of other devices, e.g. tape and disc drives - HP-IL.

HP 41

7/79

First calculator to connect with serial, parallel, HPIL, HPIB, IR, & acoustic devices

HP 41

7/79

First calculator with a user definable keyboard

HP 41

7/82

First calculator to display and calculate with complex numbers

HP 15C

7/82

First calculator to use all 12 test conditionals

HP 15C

7/82

First calculator with base arithmetic in unsigned, ones- or twos-complement modes

HP 16C

9/82

First handheld with a spreadsheet - Visicalc ROM

HP 75C

2/84

First handheld with a numeric range that covered 1000 decades (10 ^+/-500)

HP 71B

1/87

First calculator with a computer algebra system, CAS

HP 28C

3/90

First graphing calculator with a "virtual display" larger than the LCD itself

HP 48SX

3/90

First calculator to use two way IR

HP 48SX

3/90

First scientific/graphing calculator with mixed (three) programming code types

HP 48SX

1 - The four basic logic systems are Arithmetic (adding machine, no logic), RPN (postfix logic), Algebraic (infix logic), and Command Line (mixed multiple data and operators).

2 - The timer was not an official feature, but the code in the ROM could be accessed by pressing three keys simultaneously, CHS and the two number keys below. (7 & 8, 4 & 5, or 1 & 2. The HP-55 used the same code and a quartz crystal. Many users modified their 45's to add a quartz crystal to increase the accuracy of the timer.

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Hewlett-Packard Calculator Firsts

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