The HP-12C is arguably one of the most successful calculators ever made. First introduced 20 years ago, the 12C is HP's longest and best selling calculator.
"In the technological age it is virtually impossible to have a product remain unchanged yet successful for over 20 years," states Gregg Goosen, product manager for HP handhelds and calculators at SDD.
Goosen explains: "The 12C continues to be the de facto standard shirt-pocket calculator in use by business people. Through the years the HP-12C has picked up a fiercely loyal following in the business community which ensures its continued success."
With palmtops hogging the media limelight, it is quite refreshing to see a 20-year-old calculator still walking off the shelves. Although the 12C has been followed by many newer models with both more and less features, this model maintains a high product turnover. The HP-17BII, for instance, is 15 times faster and displays more than four times as much information, yet the 12C remains the favourite.
"Quite simply, HP got the recipe right.
The 12C offers exactly the right functions, in the right form factor, and at the right price," says Goosen. "Word-of-mouth, and familiarity with the 20-year-old product has built up a loyal user base. Basically it has become the industry standard," continues Goosen.
The HP-12C is also a classic RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) calculator. This logic system became the standard for most electronic calculators. RPN has been credited to Jan Lukasiewicz who proposed certain prefix and postfix mathematical systems in the 1920s. It's not clear where HP began in the development of the Reverse Polish Notation. HP considers its main influences to be Jan Lukasiewicz's mathematical methods, but other influences include experience with mechanical calculators and some of the first electronic calculators such as the Friden ECs.
Reverse Polish Notation, named in honour of Lukasiewicz, is a process of stacking certain arbitrary expressions. It allows mathematical expressions to be specified without parentheses by placing the operators (x, +, - etc) before (prefix notation) or after (postfix notation) the operands. In 1951 HP adjusted the postfix notation for a calculator keyboard, added a stack to hold the operands, and functions to reorder the stack. HP dubbed the result Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) also in honour of Lukasiewicz.
In the years that followed, computer scientists realised that RPN was very efficient for computer mathematics. This meant that RPN calculators superceded the partial algebraic model. The partial algebraic model calculators could only evaluate trivial expressions, and the technology of the time did not allow for full algebraic compilers in pocket calculators. RPN allowed HP to produce a pocket calculator that could evaluate arbitrary expressions using the available technology. For many, learning a new style of entry was a small price to pay to be able to evaluate arbitrary expressions on a calculator.
"By the time technology allowed for algebraic compilers to fit into pocket calculators, most RPN users had decided that RPN was more efficient and consistent," states SDD's Goosen and adds that this contributed greatly to the popularity of the HP-12C. He also remarks that "the 12C was very sophisticated for its time. Business functions include interest calculations, bonds, amortisation, depreciation, and statistical functions. The battery life of the 12C is also renowned, with one sample running for 17 years on the original set of batteries."
In a world of throwaway technology, the HP-12C business calculator has definitely made its mark. "I'm sure the HP-12C will still be selling well for the next 20 years!" concludes Goosen.
SDD stocks the entire range of HP calculators and handhelds. Product manager Gregg Goosen can be contacted on (011) 652-8222.
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SDD, the focused IT company in the Siltek Technology Chain Group, is South Africa's largest broad-based distributor of information technology. SDD encourages black empowerment opportunities and is the partner of choice of several leading vendors. It distributes a wide range of 'best of breed' hardware and software products, as well as peripherals, components and consumables. SDD configures branded hardware and builds-to-order Xylo, Vision and Fujitech, its own range of PCs. SDD has branches in Gauteng, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit and Namibia. Outside South Africa, the company has partnerships in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Siltek Limited
Siltek Limited leads the southern African technology supply chain. Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1969, Siltek comprises several complementary operating companies, each of which is a key player in its niche focus area.
Siltek Limited is grouped into three main operating divisions, namely Volume Distribution, Specialist Distribution and Supply Chain Services. Companies in the Volume division are SDD, Workgroup and MemtekMMW. Specialist Distribution consists of Siltek Telecoms, Chemetrix, Siltek Healthcare Solutions, Siltek Midrange Solutions and Intelligent Systems. Imperitek, Merchandise IT and Siltek Finance make up the Supply Chain Services division.
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