HP 12c

Pros: "Gold standard" financial calculator

Cons: Expensive, slow, some functions aren't intuitive

The Bottom Line: This is *the* classic financial calculator, but it's also a dinosaur. You'd be better off buying a modern financial calculator like the HP17BII.

Review: The 12C is HP's best-selling calculator, possibly the most successful calculator ever. It was first sold about two decades ago and the electronics have never been upgraded. The display uses 7 segment LEDs to show each digit, whereas the newer HPs...

Pros: Versatile and simple with powerful commonly used functions

Cons: Can't do everything, but that's why there are computers

The Bottom Line: If you're in the finance industry, you probably already own this. If you're not, buy something else. This is NOT for amateurs or high school students.

Review: The Hewlett Packard HP 12C calculator has been in production for over twenty years. Over that period, it has become the most popular calculator for finance professionals. While not the most powerful of calculators--the HP 17 and 19 series both...

Pros: Time value of money, NPV, depreciation, percents, statistics. Very easy to use.

Cons: Can't really think of any, except maybe sometimes ten digits of precision isn't enough.

Review: This is a fairly simple but standard calculator used for basic financial stuff like NPV and time value of money. It will save you thousands on your next mortgage and probably that much on your next car deal if you just figure how to compute...

Pros: Many functions that are great for figuring out mortgages, IRRs, NPVs, etc

Cons: Not especially easy to use or figure out, old ugly design

The Bottom Line: Buy the HP12C if you are an MBA student or in the finance industry. It will really help if you can figure out how to use it.

Review: If you are an MBA student or would like to pretend to be one, then the HP12C Financial Calculator is the one for you. You are almost looked down upon in school and the finance industry if you don't own one of these puppies. This seems to be a pretty...

Pros: Nicer than the 10B, if ya wanna look cool.

Cons: Hmm, no equals button? Im from Oklahoma, how do you expect me to use this?

The Bottom Line: Get it...its cool. Although, mine is brown...and brown is SO out of style.....so, try to find it in black.

Review: OK, so I drop my PreMed major. Well, it dropped me actually. I kinda failed Chemistry and Calculus, the first two required classes. So, I took that as a hint and moved on. Now, I am a Finance major. At one of the top 20 biz schools in the US (mom,...

Pros: Best form factor ever, good speed, tight manufacture, classy appearance.

Cons: Shifted undo, backspace functions make clumsy editting, orange hard to read, dated programming.

The Bottom Line: Buy it for features, ease of use. Learn RPN if you have time.

Review: Well, I bit the bullet and bought a 12C from Samson Cables. This particular version was the Platinum Anniversary Edition. My rationale for purchasing it was that I have worn out several calculators in my day job, and I was not going to move to a TI...

Pros: Created to solve REAL WORLD business problems. Programmable. Built rock solid.

Cons: Would like more stats functionality.

The Bottom Line: If you need a financial calculator. Get this one. You won't be disappointed. It will last longer than your interest in finance.

Review: I used this calculation for my MBA program (2004-2005) while everyone else in the class was using Excel. This calculator took me through two accounting classes and three financial analysis classes. Forget the RPN verses algebratic input, you'll get...

Pros: Excellent for loans, Real Estate, Bonds, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Retirement Planning.

Cons: Takes 20 minutes to understand RPN.

Review: I don't know how all the previous reviews missed this but you can choose either Algebraic or RPN and the HP 12C does have an = sign (it's on the enter key). The manual which comes with the HP 12C gives examples in both RPN and Algebraic modes.
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Pros: Good buttons and looks nice when new.

Cons: Expensive, outdated, hard to use, can give bad calculations without you knowing.

The Bottom Line: Don't waste your money. It's not as good as newer calculators. I broke my budget to get this one and it just wasn't worth it.

Review: I am a mortgage broker. I have worked at 3 different mortgage companies and I have seen many trainees learn calculations with this calculator. It is a mortgage industry standard. I bought one for myself about a year and a half ago.

I am...

Pros: Almost all important financial functions, if you know how to operate it.

Cons: Hard to operate, reverse notation, obsolescence.

Review: About a year ago, I got the responsibility to test all the office appliances for y2k compliance. SEC ruled that everything (including microwaves, phones and wrist watches) had to be tested. We even had to have backup people to start working if a...