Sharp Elsi Mate EL-386

This little unattractive beige unit was purchased in 1991 by my corporate employer at the time (we try not to drop names at the honeycomb hideout) and "gifted" to me when I left to move on to bigger and better ways of making honey...
I just had to write a review and tell you my contemplations - it might be old - it might be unattractive - in fact it is. But this bad boy still calculates like mad, perfectly, with easy to see buttons that are not too far apart with a handy little fold out component to angle it like a key pad on your desk for easy calculating.

Besides the fact that it is - what? - close to 17 years old - it is SOLAR POWERED. Sharp will probably censor this review because, besides a Swing Stapler, which is completely mechanical anyway and doesn't really figure - I had yet to find an office product with NO built-in obsolescence. This particular unit has traveled the world and has been through many climate changes and circumstances including being packed into a box and stored in complete darkness (thereby depriving it of its life force) for several months. NO PROBLEM...It still functions perfectly the minute you hit the C button to turn it on. It is the perfect portable size (about the same size as a pocket book paperback but thinner and flat). Other calculators are either so small you must use the tip of a pen to press the tiny little buttons or just a little too over sized with that silly angled display to carry around and use as a portable. This is completely flat unless you fold out the little lever in the back to angle it so it is easy to store with notebooks and paperwork in your bag.

The keys are made of an ugly dark gray and pale gray HARD plastic. This is important because so many new calculators and keypads are made with this soft plastic that at first seems nice but if you clean it frequently or don't clean it at all it completely deteriorates and gets all gummy and then the keys start sticking and then it is all over for that unit. This hard plastic is much easier to clean and can be cleaned with sanitizing agents without breaking down apparently.

The "window" that takes in the solar power is a bit bigger and is not made with an unprotected inset of that strange red plastic stuff that also gets dirty. Instead the window is flush with the component and and the red weird stuff is protected under this window so you can easily clean this part so as not to block the solar power from recharging the battery.

Since this particular model I think Sharp has probably realized their mistake and discontinued this version as it was then for one that is cheaper to build and obsolete much quicker but with all of the modern pseudo comfort points like the cushion buttons, angled display and better colors.

I have questions for those of you who are engineers out there. Why can't my electric toothbrush recharger be solar powered? Or my cell phone charger? Is it because it cannot be? Or is it because it would require a bit more quality engineering and higher production costs and that is difficult to balance with obsolescence?

Back in 1991 this model was just shy of $10.00 which was not sooo cheap in those days especially in light of all of the cheap calculators given away as promotional freebies from every company in the world and taking every form...All solar powered but for some reason a short life span.

Think of that waste nightmare the next time you toss a little key chain calculator into the trash with your local muffler repair company's logo on the side!
And then think of me here with my one and only trusty calculating machine that isn't so cute, pretty or boasting clever advertising space but is always ready to do its job and to calculate the truth for me.

In case you are an E-Bay person or a thrift shopper here are its specifications:
Sharp Els Mate EL 386 Twin Power Calculator with Memory Safe Guard/ Auto Power Off
Battery Solar Cell LR1130 or LR54 and it is Made in Thailand from US Patents 3902169 3976994.

Kudos to Sharp for having a green component before it was fashionable!