Statistics, trigonometry,physics, exploring, picture viewing, notes, drawing, etc: things I would never be able to do with any other calculator but a prizm or another nspire. By the way did you see that a hacker has found a way to bypass the RSA factoring keys of the nspire to possibly install the cas os on non cas and vice versa?
Quote guest" As for the non-cas version, you have already been given reasons why the Prizm is the better buy." Yes I do think the prizm is a better buy than the non cas nspire with os 2.1 grayscale. But with os 3.0 and the cx I'm not so sure. Also if testing isn't a problem you can always pick up a cas nspire for just 3 extra dollars.
But what I'm really saying is that I don't think the classpad is better than the cas nspire for students since it isn't allowed on any test, whereas a regular cas calculator can sitll be used on AP SAt PSat exams. And I don't think the 50g is as good for students (I have used a 48g) because of how hard it is to use. But both the classpad and the 50g seem better for developers and programmers and engineers. Nspire is a student's device.
Yes, I was stunned that anyone would post that. In some way that I have never understood, when you buy a device with the TI os in it, it is in some way not yours to do with as you see fit even though you bought and own it, and TI can in some way that I don't understand take legal actions to stop that activity I have heard, which I suppose could allow cheating on tests and possibly cause TI to lose their qualification for tests for those calc's. I am not a lawyer, that is just my understanding, and I hope I am wrong about that but if those posts die out that is probably the reason.
"Yes I do think the Prizm is a better buy than the non cas nspire with os 2.1 grayscale. But with os 3.0 and the cx I'm not so sure." Yes, I suppose that the cx color screen would make it as appealing as the Prizm but TI still has to reduce the price to make it as cost effective as the Prizm.
The thing I am really interested in is how Casio and Hp will compete with the cx cas version. What I mean is that with the cx and cx cas only being a few dollars apart in price, TI is promoting the use of cas calculators. In addition, without a color screen, the Casio Classpad and the Hp 50g will be non-competitive against the npsire cx cas. HP is a wild card and hard to figure out so they may simply drop out of the business, but with the Prizm and it's color screen, Casio is serious about challenging TI so I have no doubt that they will put out a color screen version of the Classpad to compete with the TI cx cas. Also, the Prizm was qualified for tests before it was available so I expect the same thing to occur for the color screen version of the Classpad. The questions are will Casio upgrade their 3d graphing capability by allowing more than one surface to be graphed and will they provide any addtional math capability? At the same time will TI have any battery life problems with its cx's and will their new 3d graphing capability be stable? Obviously we have to wait and see. Another consideration is that TI is very determined to not allow games on their devices so it would be in Casios best interests to allow them. Either way I think Casio will counter TI's courting of high school teachers with a program of their own and if TI sticks to their all or nothing approach of only providing imporvements for teachers, over the next couple of years Casio can gain a great deal of the total market and bloody TI's nose so to speak.
I sincerely believe that TI is at a disadvantage in competiting with Casio because of the cultural differences. TI has this habit of cutting corners and producing what I would call a minimally working product and then spinning the heck out of it. Casio on the other hand takes the time to engineer a truly superior product. As mentioned above, when I take a look at the cheap ass tiny alpha buttons on the nspire in Walmart, and then I look at the keyboard on the Prizm, I just don't want to buy the TI product. It looks cheap and makes me wonder what other corners TI cut with tha product. The thought of a bright color screen and 3d graphing is very tempting but when I remind myself that TI didn't do the 3d graphing job properly by providing shift (Pan) capability, I worry that there are other things that I am not aware of, where TI cut corners and didn't do the job properly. Then when I look as those tiny cheap ass buttons on an nspire, I get totally turned off and think to myself - ugh, I definitely don't want that POS. Other people may see things differently but then again maybe not. I just don't trust TI to sell me a product that I will be happy with. Another thing is the missing functions that Casio and Hp have that TI in their cheapness refuse to impliment on their calculators. For me it is a constant reminder that TI cuts corners and doesn't do the job right. Again, I wonder what other problems are lurking in their designs that I don't know about.
As for nspire being a students device, I think that is only because of the teachers using it in classes. If Casio goes after the U.S. high school market and a bunch of teachers start using the Prizm, then people will think of the Prizm as a students device also. BTW, I wonder how the teachers who bought the initial nspire with that horrible keyboard, or the click pad device, or the gray scale screens, over the past few years feel about their purchase? If it was me, I'd be kicking myself for buying that junk when I could have waited a while and got a much better product. I don't want a calculator where the maker cuts corners only to fix things later with another new design that I have to buy. I want a really good math device that I can be happy with for a long time, so I will wait patiently to see what Casio and Hp do. They have to do something and I would say that based on past experience, Casio won't rush things but what they finally do will be done right (Unlike TI's approach of rushing out a poor design and fixing it later with another model).