 "Great Calculator Overall" | 2010-01-03 |
| - Reviewed By Josh C. from Seattle, WA, USA |
This calculator does exactly what it says and works perfectly. Many people reviewing this product say that the buttons are clumsy, the screen is difficult to view, and that there is poor documentation included. These statements are absolutely true, but it's important to remember that just like any other new purchase, it will take a little time to get used to it.
The functionality of the TI-NSpire keypad is considerably different in most aspects from any of their other models. They layout of the buttons is primarily the same as all other Texas Instruments versions, with minor adjustments to include more operations. Those who complain that the small green and gray buttons (featuring many math operators, as well as the full ALPHA series) get in the way, I can agree that on occasion, you will accidentally press one. However, this minor user-error is greatly overcome by the fact that buttons for pi, theta, i, >, <, and many other important mathematical operators are easily accessed simply by pressing a button. The menu buttons and cursor featured on the NSpire will take some time to get used to. They are fairly complex, but nothing that practice won't solve.
The TI-Nspire screen is definitely one of its selling points. It looks great and works great. There have been complaints of the screen being difficult to see, but unless you are reading it from across the room, trying to look at the screen from an extremely odd angle, or have poor lighting, there aren't any issues. I specifically checked this with my TI-83, TI-84, and TI-84+, and the viewing angles are virtually the exact same.
As with all electronics, I didn't touch the manual. If you have used calculators in the past, you won't have a problem finding your way around this one. It works the exact same as any other TI version, except that it has the newest technology, and a few new perks. If you are honestly considering not buying something based on it having an adequate user manual, I'd have to suggest that you go into some other field of study/expertise.
In general, this is a great calculator. If you're in a math/engineering/science position, it will easily accomplish the task of saving you time, which is what any calculator does. If you're looking to use this as a student, I can't suggest buying it, though. If your teacher is worth their salt, they will not allow you to use anything besides a scientific calculator on any exam (math, science, or otherwise). It's extremely easy to store information on this calculator (especially with the new letter keys), and most things you should be able to do by hand, can be done by this product. Simply put, the purpose of a calculator is to speed up the pace of which your work is done, not to do it for you. |
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 "A great graphing calculator" | 2010-01-02 |
| - Reviewed By T. DeGroff |
| This calculator is worth every penny. The two keypads is nice, but the when you purchase this model over the CAS model (with one fixed keypad), it eliminates the algebraic functions. The CAS model will do such things as solve for x, whereas this version of the nspire will not. For some, this may work, but for me, I really don't use the more inferior keypad as much if at all, so buying this one just because of the dual keypad feature was a waste. I definitely should have bought the CAS model because I would have used the algebretic functions way more than the outdated keypad, but that's just me. Overall this is an amazing calculator though. |
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| "Inspired by NSpire" | 2009-12-03 |
| - Reviewed By math teacher from McLennan County, Texas USA |
| This is the best calculator to be developed in the last 50 years. It surpasses any model that is available before it. |
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 "Needs work" | 2009-10-11 |
| - Reviewed By Jon R from CT, USA |
My trust TI-84 was lost the other day and I needed a graphing calculator for Calculus (I'll be going through about 4 semesters of Calc). Since TI was showing the Nspire as the secessor to the TI84 I figured I'd take the plunge and see if it did the job better. Big mistake. Instead of going into a rant I'll be fair and show what TI did right and what they did wrong.
The good...
- Large higher res screen.
- You can display multipul things on the screen at once.
- Comes with a TI-84 keyboard that literally turns it into a TI-84. Useful for tests that don't allow the nspire and if your instructor is using the 84.
- WYSIWYG, basically you don't have to memorize calculator syntax.
- Runs faster than previous calculators
The bad...
- Larger than previous TI calculators
- In order to see the screen clearly it must be either very birght or you must look almost directly down at it.
- Virtually no programming support, so unlike previous TI graphing calcs you won't be able to add functionality via 3rd party apps unless TI fixes this.
- Complicates simple problems. Problems that were simple to do on the TI-84 are much harder.
- Intstead of the 2nd key, those functions are seperate buttons raised above the normal keys. These green buttons always get in the way when you're entering problems. They should have stuck the the 2nd key fintionality.
- Under it's new skin the funtionality is the same as the TI-84
- Since it looks like a PDA it makes instructors nervous that you're cheating on tests.
- The cover is too tight, they designed it so that the cover pushes into the raised keys scratching the inside of the cover and I have a feeling it will break off the keys before long.
- Take a long time to load after switching out the keypads.
- Not every TI-84 app works with the TI-84 keypad/mode.
Overall it the internal hardware is a huge improvement, it holds a lot of potential. Unfortunatly between the poorly designed keypad and software, it falls flat. Stick with the TI-84 for now. Maybe the Nspire 2 will get it right. |
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| "Had to buy it" | 2009-09-29 |
| - Reviewed By An Amazon User |
| I had to buy this calculator as a requirement for one of my math classes. I hated the fact that we had to get it, but now that I have it, I use it all the time. Not just for that math class but for anything else I need a calculator for. It's awesome. It has great functions and I like the fact that it has so many different options. |
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| "This was a great buy!" | 2009-09-28 |
| - Reviewed By An Amazon User |
| This was purchased for my son who went to college this year. I'm sure he likes it very much and appreciates it. I have heard no bad review from him about it so I know he finds it very helpful in his studies. |
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