Texas Instruments TI-NSpire Math and Science Handheld Graphing Calculator
The TI-Nspire handheld comes with a snap-in TI-84 Plus Keypad that provides the same keystrokes as TI-83 Plus, TI-84 Plus and TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculators. Whether handhelds are provided by your school or your students bring in personally-owned units, this side-by-side compatibility between TI-Nspire handhelds and existing TI graphing calculators delivers a comfortable transition to TI-Nspire technology. Inclueds USB cable for software and file downloads. (more…)
Texas Instruments TI-NSpire Math and Science Handheld Graphing Calculator
Strengths:
The document management system — multiple “problems” can be kept in the calculator at the same time, and each problem keeps its own variable names; good graphing capabilities; ability to split the screen and work with multiple views of the same problem; spreadsheet application. The calculator has 5 “applications” (calculator, graphs & geometry, spreadsheet, data & statistics, notes), and information can be shared between them.
Weaknesses:
The documentation is very poor. There are two user guides, with considerable overlap in the contents. In User Guide Part 1, which comes packaged with the calculator, there are 25 pages on the Graphs & Geometry application, and the information on how to actually plot a graph is barely mentioned. User Guide Part 2 comes as a PDF file, and has more detail, but is badly organized and missing a lot of information. For example, instructions for a number of operations say to “drag” something, but nowhere in the manual does it say how to do that. (more…)
HP 50g Graphing Calculator (F2229AA#ABA)
I just received mine in the mail today. I do not think that it is officially even released in the US; at least, it is not on HP’s English language website yet.
This is the first HP calculator I have ever owned and my impressions so far have generally been very positive. It seems just like the 49g+, but with a fully plastic case and keyboard, a serial port, and a four cell battery compartment.
Compared to the TI-89, the HP-50 seems more powerful. The CAS seems a little stronger, it has a lot more built-in mathematical, scientific, and engineering applications, and the hardware is far superior. The calculator runs on a ARM processor similar to the speeds on low-end pocket PCs, unlike the TI-89′s slow custom processor, but the CAS runs on an emulated processor, so it is not as fast as it could be. The HP also has an infrared port and a SD expansion card, so it has no realistic memory limits.
Its liabilities are that the screen seems a little smaller than the TI-89′s, the calculator is not nearly as user-friendly as the TI-89′s, the calculator only comes with a basic manual of about 100-200 pages while the full 900 page manual is only available on CD, and there does not seem to be as much third party support as for the TI-89.
But if you want the most powerful portable mathematical system available in a handheld calculator, this is definitely a must-buy. (more…)
Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator
24K RAM and 160K User Data Archive / Advanced Science, Math, Statistics / Equation Graphing 24K RAM and 160K User Data Archive memory Store up to 10 applications at one time Keystroke and Assembly programming capabilities Compatibility with CBL and CBR real-world data collection and analysis systems Regression analysis and other statistical functions The 83+ adds Flash memory technology for electronic upgradeability for additional applications (requires PC interface link) Science and economic issues often go hand-in-hand so the 83+ does extensive financial functions. (more…)
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