8 replies to this topic

[ASTRO491K]

TI just announced a new 2.0 OS for nspire (go to education.ti.com), and of all things, it has a scratch pad for doing math. Yes, of all things, a special feature for doing math! I just can't get over it, a special feature for doing math on a calculator! And they have a new handheld that has a touch pad for moving the curser. Wow, what will they think of next. Like maybe 3d graphing, or Laplace transforms? Naw, they wouldn't do something like that. Oh, I've got it! They can add a special button labeled "Pich." A special feature for doing pie charts.

[noname11]

I think even the most fanatic Casio and Hewlett-Packard people have to admit that Texas Instruments remains the leading company in calculator technology.

Edited by cfxm, 07 March 2010 - 07:46 PM.

[ASTRO491K]

That simply is not true. Yes, they used to be thought of as a leader in calculator technology but their nspire series has severly tarnished that reputation. Their latest cas design has significantly "dumbed down" math capability. No more 3d graphing. No more slope fields. And there never was Laplace or Fourier transform capability in the TI calculators. TI seems to have lost sight of the fact that a calculator is a math machine and therefore should first of all offer superior math capability. They could have scooped the entire calculator industry by offering 3d graphing of several surfaces but what did they do? They eliminated 3d graphing entirely from their latest designs and offer gimmics like a scratch pad. TI has shown with their nspire series that they are no longer the leading company in calculator technology so it is time to move on to the better alternatives.

I think even the most fanatic Casio and Hewlett-Packard people have to admit that Texas Instruments remains the leading company in calculator technology.

[noname11]

Who's talking about software? Software can always be rewritten and improved.
The most interesting part remains the built-in hardware and this is where TI takes over leadership.
Hey, I especially like the redesigned keyboard!

Edit: Meh, the Nspire got no backlight...

Edited by cfxm, 07 March 2010 - 08:07 PM.

[ASTRO491K]

Ha,ha,ha you are funny. First of all, the two calculators in the pictures that you posted above are NOT available(!), and I could get no date from ti as to when they will be. So lets just think of them as TI's imaginary calculators. Secondly, since ti introduced two new products that they are not prepared to supply, don't you get an uneasy feeling about the way they do business? Next and very importantly, we live in a 3D world and nearly everything that happens in it, can be described by differential equations. That makes 3D graphing and slope fields extremely important, but you won't get that capability in the new ti nspire designs. And since they have had years to provide that very important software and have not done so, do you really think they ever will? I don't. But go ahead and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait, and, and, and while you are at it, wait for the back light too. But do keep in mind that "stupid is as stupid does."

Who's talking about software? Software can always be rewritten and improved.
The most interesting part remains the built-in hardware and this is where TI takes over leadership.
Hey, I especially like the redesigned keyboard!
Edit: Meh, the Nspire got no backlight...

[ASTRO491K]

NO. Without competition, the one os would never be improved.

woudnt it be cool to have one os for hp, ti and casio? no need to complain about math faetures competitors already have. nice calc btw!

[ASTRO491K]

Those are very nice pictures. Thank you for posting them. It's a real shame that those calculators are so lacking in math capability and so limited in programing that I have to consider them to be mere toys for high school kids to play with. Notice that the cas version has the same keyboard keys as the non-cas versions while my TI Voyage 200 calculator which was designed over a decade ago does 3D graphing, slope fields, etc., and has a standard qwerty keyboard layout along with special math keys for things like calculus. Actually I like the Casio 3D graphing much better, not to mention things like Laplace transforms which none of the TI calculators have. Oh well, thats life, but a real shame none the less. Maybe people buy calculators based on how they look, and not on what they can do? I don't know.

Pictures!
http://datamath.org/...ng/NSpireTP.htm
http://datamath.org/.../NSpireTP_Y.htm
http://datamath.org/...SpireTP_CAS.htm