RetroTech: Hewlett Packard HP-01 1977's Smartest Watch

HP only made one calculator watch and almost 40 years later it continues to be an amazing, uniquely capable device. Useful Links Below:
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FAQs
TRIANGLE/DELTA
The manual refers to this symbol using a picture not a word - however it seems to be very important issue to a number of people that I should have referred to this symbol as a Delta rather than a triangle- I can't change the video now, it's already been made. It looks like a triangle, so that's what I called it.

BONGOS
There is one second of audio at the end of this video of bongos that should not be in this video - a number of people think that this is a conspiracy and a way to 'troll' them(?!?).......here's the true reason that one second of bongo audio is in this video........ It was an editing error.
Every video starts off with a copy and paste of the previous one to retain the up to date patreon list.
All audio is deleted apart from the intro and outro music.
One second of audio from the previous video was not deleted in error. So that's it - as always, real life is rarely as exciting as an overactive imagination.

GAUSS
Apparently this is pronounced incorrectly in the video and this really upsets people.

Comments: Killing video enjoyment since 2006.

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[copheart]

I bought one of these at a flea market last summer. I saw the box first and I opened it and was shocked by what I saw. I had never heard or seen these before. I asked the women what she wanted for it and she said $30. I had no clue what it was worth and asked her if she'd take $20 since there was no battery hence no way to know if it even worked. She agreed and I got a beautiful late 70's watch. I seriously didn't think it was worth $1000 and when I found out I was so shocked. I haven't sold it though. It's too cool.

[CockatooDude]

Holy shit, watches had touchscreens in the 1980's? AND drawing recognition?? Man I thought that stuff was new in like 2013 but in the 80's? I never would have thought. Thanks for enlightening me. That was really cool.

[detaart]

Those time based calculations are very powerful.
Pretty impressive for it's age.

_"...but notice on the right hand side there is a dot, that means it's the 21st century..."_
So they were ready for the Y2K bugs even as soon as 1977. Impressive.

[TheBitGuy]

Great video! I was also obsessed with digital watches in the 1980s and 90s. I was also surprised when the databank watches came out and then progress just stalled. I always wanted a watch with a full dot-matrix LCD display that could do a lot of functions and those really never materialized. The ones that did are MUCH too large to fit my wrist. I was hopeful when Apple announced a new watch, but those turned out to be too large as well, and much too expensive. In my line of work, they always end up scratched to pieces so I can't imagine wearing a watch that costs more than $100.

[SMGJohn]

We come so far in technology we gone fucking backwards

[WhatsOnTheOtherEnd]

I actually think the button presses make a lot of sense. the triangle is a Greek Delta, referring to "change". Delta is used in science a lot to mean "a change in this variable". So, if you punch in a number, then hit delta and a variable, you are saying, "Change the value of this variable to this value".

It's really a genius design. Those time calculations are fascinating! Very cool.

[samhardy]

This watch was so far ahead of its time. Certainly had far more functions than 80s LCD calculator watches.

[cmeves]

The triangle is the math symbol "delta" which means the "change" in an equation. It would be used to show how a "change" (triangle) in X would effect Y for example. I think that is what they meant it to say, as the delta symbol is used to change the process on the watch.

[SacredSalad]

Your video immediately made me think of a quote from the 1978 BBC Radio 4 series by Douglas Adams (later the book), "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" - “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.”

[grvidz]

Hey, you make really high quality videos. I think this, LGR, and 8-bit Guy are my top tech channels on YouTube.

[X-OR_]

I know the Project Engineer for the Hewlett Packard HP-01. His Name was Andre Marion and Steve Wozniak was on his team at one time. Andre Marion started a company called Applied Biosystems were I worked with him. He once showed me this watch and some prototype material. A very good guy and absolutely

[SilverDawnArrow]

Honestly, having grown up in the mid 2000s, my strongest memories of digital watches was they always seemed to beep in the middle of classes and get on everyone's nerves

[Dylan-ohii]

"That's some cool retro tech, I would like to purchase that" *Checks ebay* "Casio it is."

[ink]

"That dot means it's in the 21st century" I forget what century I'm in all the time, thank you HP.

[artl]

Techmoan- Just discovered your channel and really like this video. In 1977, I spent the ungodly sum (which I could barely afford) of $800 to buy an HP-65 programmable calculator. I learned to program on that thing which put be in good stead over the years. I was a real calculator nut and moved up top the HP-67 and then ultimately the HP-41C. I even did my 2nd master's thesis on an HP-41 where I simulated in programming, RPN vs. arithmetic entry. I still have a collection of calculators. And I remember well drooling over the HP-01 at the time. Thanks for sharing. Gave me a nice trip down memory lane.

[donovanreimer]

I simply couldn’t stop watching this. Well done!

[AlRoderick]

Man, that watch can do live calculations that my phone needs wolfram alpha and an internet connection to do. I wonder if anyone's made a stand alone app that works like that.

[ntgeralt]

The design of the box and the manual is very beautiful, and the watch design is also very beautiful.

[KowboyUSA]

"Well, most people didn't use the calculator that much." It was the 1980s, so undoubtedly, quite a few coke dealers used it a lot.