A sad piece of design

This is my eighth HP calculator in the past 30 years -- a 65, a 25, two 15s, an 11, two 32SIIs, and now this. I bought it because the last 32SII's keyboard died, and a non-RPN calculator just doesn't cut it. Unfortunately, if you want an RPN calculator and don't need graphing, the 33s is your only choice.

Display
The LCD display has reasonable contrast and is generally easy to read, although the digits are narrower than I would prefer. The plastic is annoyingly shiny, so objects behind the calculator create distracting reflections. By comparison, the older 32SII's matte surface was much easier to read.

Keyboard
To be blunt: I hate it. The "chevron" scheme makes it hard to enter numbers -- I have to consciously watch the buttons. It also means that the labeling takes on a rather sloppy appearance that makes them hard to read. Every other HP calculator in my past has had a dark case (at least around the keys) with clearly contrasting legends for secondary functions; the 33s has a high-glare metallic silver surface with secondary functions labelled in dark turquoise and purple, which are too close to easily distinguish under some lighting.

The key layout is exasperating at times: the ENTER key, which is traditionally large and to the left, has been demoted to a small button to the right of the decimal point. In hexadecimal mode, the button for "F" is off by itself, where you have to hunt for it.

Most of the keys have a decent feel, but the silver upper group seems flimsy. Compared to their previous models, though, the 33s feels insubstantial.

Overall
The user interface smacks of an attempt to be flashy... a decidedly unwelcome contrast to HP's heritage of practical utilitarian design. Hopefully HP will return to its roots and bring back a calculator with clean, simple styling; in fact, if they brought the HP15c back, I'd buy it in an instant.

On the back of the calculator you find the usual logos and symbols that adorn electronic devices nowadays. It's sadly telling that they include an icon warning you against throwing the unit in the trash; the 33s indeed has a disposable feel about it that would have kept it from ever bearing an HP logo. Bill Hewlett must be spinning in his grave.