Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator

The BA II Plus operates in standard calculator and worksheet modes. The standard mode lets you perform common math as well as operations involving the time value of money--that is, applications such as mortgages or annuities in which payments are equal and evenly spaced. You can also perform trigonometric functions in standard mode.

The more hard-core worksheet mode includes tables for amortization, bond, depreciation, and compound interest. If you're not familiar with such calculations, the very helpful user's manual will guide you through the process. All previous worksheet values are stored in memory, so you don't have to retype all the bond maturity or cash flow analysis figures.

The average user who wants to calculate a basic loan payment will be more comfortable working in the standard calculator mode. We were using the BA II Plus tools for calculating basic interest and payment periods within minutes. Still, it's good to know that the more advanced features are available for those who require heavy-duty financial computing.

Finance students and average users alike will find much to like in the Texas Instruments BA II Plus. --John Frederick Moore

Sadly there is one serious problem with the machine. Strictly speaking it is not year 2000 compliant. Your date range is 1950 - 1949 and can only be entered as two digit years. TI have no work around for this either.

If you just want to number crunch all day long, this calculator gets my vote. Everything is in front of you on the keypad, you don't have to navigate around registers or menus. The keyboard is light and sensitive and easy to use. And the way the functions work together is very flexible.

The HP 12C. What can I say about this beautiful piece of craftsmanship. This not just a calculator, but an example of fine engineering. Sort of in the same league as a vintage car. You can almost here the engine purring gently when you turn it on. In comparison with the BAII Plus and the 17BII it lacks functionality. You will also see criticisms of its speed. But in reality this is untrue. What the 12C lacks in processing speed (and the difference is so slight that your calculations won't be affected) it makes up for in form factor and ruggedness. Don't underestimate this. The keyboard is industrial strength and so is the case. You can sit there banging away in RPN with one hand without even looking whilst you follow columns of figures with the other. You gain the best of both worlds between a heavy duty desk top calc and a neat pocket calculator. There is one other big advantage, which is the wealth of tutorials guides and papers about using it available for free on the internet.

But for uncompromising power, the HP 17BII is, for me, the ultimate financial calculator. It isn't as cumbersome as the 19BII but has everything I need from that calculator. The functionality is comprehensive, and where you might find limitations it gives you accurate work-arounds. The solver is indispensible. You can enter a formula and set up variables to enter as if you were using built in functionality. And it will solve for which ever variable is missing. Did you get that? - it actually does the algebra for you!!!

The 17BII is fast and rugged and I haven't yet found something I can't solve either through the built in functions or by programming it.


Great for the money. Comparison with HP17BII+   November 9, 2003
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

It's hard for me to give anything 5 stars, but for about $30 this calculator is such a great bargain. If it was more expensive, I would give it 4 stars. The other calculator I tried was the HP17BII+. My HP stopped working after 3 weeks. I will probably stick with the BAII+, but I did like the HP's ability to store functions.

Pros
- Lots of built-in functions. Seems like as many or more built-in financial functions than the HP17BII+.
- Better statistics functionality than the HP17BII+. Statistics is very important for business classes. The HP suprisingly lacks some basic functions, like population standard deviation.
- Has some trig functions. It can actually be a decent scientific calculator. Overall it's more versatile than any of the HP business calculators.
- Better build quality than the new HP's.
- Can be used for many standardized tests. You will not be accused of storing functions because you can't.

Cons
- In my opinion, not as user-friendly as the more menu-driven HP17BII+. The BAII+ usually requires more keystrokes and is not as intuitive. However, it's not so difficult that a good student can't learn it.
- Cannot store functions. Of course, if it did it would cost more and could be banned from certain tests.
- If you're one of the few out there that like RPN, it is not an option. The new HP's let you choose between Algebraic and RPN.

One thing that suprised me about the HP was how much their quality has gone down. They used to be the best built calculators. Now they are the worst. Look at the reviews of the new HP's. It's true! If HP doesn't get their act together, I think they will be out of the calculator market.
It would be nice if TI had a business calculator that could store user-defined functions like the HP17BII+ and have a more menu driven interface. The solver function would justify the price of the HP17BII+ if only the build quality was up to par. The quality of the newest BAII+ is not quite as good as the older ones, but it is much better than the quality of the new HP's.


Good value and performance   January 21, 2002
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

I highly recommend this calculator. It is very easy to use, packed with features, and FAST. The only negative is that is lightweight, and doesn't have the sticky keys that the HPs have. HP diehards will say that it looks "cheap." The battery compartment is a joke, and you need to be careful when changing batteries on this one. Very poor engineering, you might say, but then if you go to Office Depot, most HPs don't even work because the battery door is broke or gone... So in a way, TI really wanted people to not mess with the battery too much... Now the fact is that nobody is using the 12C anymore, and the TI BAII Plus is now the standard among real estate and business students. Furthermore, TI is the only game in town, since HP has stopped all calculator development and is preparing to exit the calculator business!


Ignore the buffoons above--this is THE financial calculator   November 14, 2001
McLaren (Tampa, FL)
33 out of 37 found this review helpful

My friends, if you're looking for a financial calculator capable of calculating basic TVM functions, amortization, NPV, IRR, statistical analysis, deprection (SL, DB, SYD, and DBX), break-even analysis, bond calculations, markups and margins, interest-rate conversions, and even the number of days between two specific dates, then look no further than the TI BAII Plus. Here's why in a nutshell:

(1) Ease of Use: Look, anything that's new to you will require some time set aside to learn about it. It will take no more than 15 minutes of perusing the manual before you know this calculator like the back of your hand. I don't know what the goofballs in the previous reviews meant when they said this calculator was hard to use--they don't even sound like people who work in finance. And whenever you need to lookup a function, just refer to the manual--what's so hard about that?!!

I used the HP 10Bii calculator. This thing actually used REGISTERS for input. In other words, it's not like entering data into a "spreadsheet"-style list that the TI has. You actually have to remember all the cash flows and data that you enter into the registers of the HP; there's no viewing, inserting, or deleting of data like the TI allows you to do. It doesn't have all that the TI has, and yet it costs exactly the same. Huh?

(2) Cost: Folks, if you want an HP calculator that is comparable to the BA II plus, you will have to shell out anywhere from (dollar amount). This is nothing new; HP always had this arrogance in pricing their calculators high--come on guys, they're all pieces of plastic made in China. What, you like the rigid feel of the buttons on HP? Well whoop-dee-doo, I thought we buy these things to perform calculations...

(3) It's got everything, Need I say more?: For instance, did you know you can perform statistical regression analysis, where you can input an "X" variable and have the calculator compute the corresponding "Y" value on a least-squares regression line? You've even got trigonometric functions (SIN, COS, and TAN) as well as the inverses of those functions.

Trust me, this is a serious calculator packed with all the basic financial tools you need, all for a REASONABLE price (read: affordable). If you want something more serious, then by all means, screw the HP, and just use Microsoft Excel.


The Best Financial Calculator   July 3, 2001
Carl Zhou (Brooklyn, NY USA)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful

TI BAII Plus is another calculator approved for CFA exam. It's much better than HP12C. It's more user friendly. You enter all data in the work sheet format. You can review all the variables you enter. Its computing speed is much faster than HP12C (80s technology, what a joke!!!). It's as fast as HP19II. The best of all, you don't have to deal with the troublesome RPN entry.

TI BAII Plus is as good as HP19II if you don't need text editor (what a waste), and HP solver (it's the only thing I like about HP 19II). With 1/2 the price of HP 12C and much better performance, it's an obvious choice, especially if you are buying for CFA exam. (HP=High Price, Horrible Performance) TI is the leader in calculator (graphic, and financial).

I am going to buy one more to use it as a backup calculator in the CFA exam.