Best Calculators Review

TI-30XS Multiview Calculator

2009-11-27T14:54:00.001-08:00

... Having taught math in urban school setting for over 5 years where funding and student buying power is limited, I've recently discovered this calculator as a cheaper alternative. Integrated math textbooks use graphing calculators extensively. The problems rely on students being able to generate tables, statistics and graphs quickly on the calculator. While the 30XS can not do graphs it can do tables (which is rare in calculators, particularly under $20) from which students can plot their own graphs. The statistics features are also fantastic featuring the mean, standard deviation,5 number summary and more. While this calculator is not as feature loaded as a TI-84, its has most of the features my High School students needs. As a bonus its mostly solar powered so I don't need to buy AAA batteries!

I have been a TI sales person in my classroom telling students if they can not afford a graphing calculator ($80 and up) this is a good choice. I do wish TI had some sort of teaching tool like TI-Smartview for this calculator, however its features are not so dissimilar to a TI-84 which makes teaching features easier. If you are fortunate enough to have a document camera, problem solved. ...
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Aurora HC127 Dual Power Executive Foldable Style 8 Digit Hardcase Calculator

2009-11-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

... This was a replacement after 5 years of heavy use. It has a number of pluses: 1) A cover that stays closed until you are ready to open it, 2) a larger screen, 3) bigger keys, 4) Decidely durable whether in pocket or purse. Prior to finding this calculator, I was replacing them about every 6 months. Out of a max of 5 stars, I give it a 6. ...
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Texas Instruments TI34II Calculator

2009-11-25T14:28:00.001-08:00

... My son uses this calculator every day for his math. It's amazing and makes things so much easier for him. Excellent purchase. ...
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HP 17BII+ Financial Calculator

2009-11-24T14:44:00.001-08:00

... I've always had good luck with HP products, but the HP 17bII+ is a bit of a clunker. The problem is that the keys are what can only be described as 'sluggish.' Meaning that it sometimes takes 2 key presses in order to be recognized. As you might imagine, this causes a LOT of errors. Rather than being able to use the calculator as one might do, that is, without really having to concentrate on the device itself, the HP 17bII+ forces you to take your mind off your real task in order to make sure that key presses are properly registered. Sorry, but I can't recommend this product.

One other thing... I DID call HP customer service about this a few months ago. They had me remove the batteries and do a complete reset of the static memory. It seemed to solve the problem for awhile, but eventually it returned. ...
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HP 33S Scientific Calculator (F2216A)

2009-11-23T14:32:00.001-08:00

... I have owned top of the line graphing and scientific calculators from TI, HP, Casio, Sharp, etc. Back when I was a student, TI's were very cheaply made and often broke quite easily amd similar HP products lasted almost forever. This machine, the HP33s, continues that HP tradition and is definitely put together very well. It is however very poorly implimented as a portable HP scientifc calculator and to boot the keyboard is very poorly designed, oddly assembled in a characteristic V shape and overall just not very useful as a professional device for handheld computations. The pros and cons as I see it are:

PROS:

1) It has all the standard features that we have come to expect on such a machine with the exception of statistical regressions beyond those that are strictly in the "linear" approximation (See CON below).

2) The machine itself operates reasonably fast (in some cases it is actually faster than the now revered successor, the HP35s).

3) It has a nice and quite modern, curved body design that sits very nicely both on a desk or on a table as well as in your hand, but I don't like the "feel" of its keyboard.

4) Either the famous RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) and an algebraic Equation Operating System (EOS) are available to be chosen depending on the wishes of the user and on the problem to be tackled.

CONS:

1) Some functions that you would readily expect to be available with a single key press require instead at least two key presses, but usually with only a single shift key press first.

2) The RPN learning curve is quite steep, although very well worth the considerable effort, but this will heavily deter some good students from learning the RPN skills that can be effectively used for your entire lifetime once they are successfully mastered.

3) The HP33s requires two coin cell batteries which are usually much harder to find than traditional AA or AAA batteries, but as a result the unit is almost pocketable and is very light.

4) HP should have already added into the ROM the other standard common regression types (power law, exponential and logarithmic curve-fits) instead of having to waste valuable programming memory space for them after they have been programmed in by hand by the user. These as well as many more types are now readily available on both simpler HP algebraic-only machines (such as the HP Smartcalc 300s) as well as on competing similar models by both Casio (the FX-115ES) and by Sharp (the EL-506B or the EL-506WBBK).

5) There is no computer user interface available at all or even an external power adapter port.

6) It will not take the square root, etc. of negative numbers (it simply gives an error message) as many scientific calculators will readily accomplish currently. It will work with complex numbers, but this lack of capability is very limiting in my opinion.
...
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Canon HS-1200TS Desktop Calculator (7438A003AA)

2009-11-22T13:17:00.001-08:00

... HI All,

GREAT all around calculator which works well for a casual user as well as a business user. The display is large and the buttons are great for folks with large fingers. One great plus point is that it operates with both a built in battery and on solar power....so in case you cant get enough solar juice you are not out in the cold. It just works.

The price is great and amazon shipping makes it even a better value.

5/5 ...
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Casio FX-115MS Plus Scientific Calculator

2009-11-21T14:22:00.001-08:00

... I've always liked Casio calculators for being cheap, extremely reliable, and durable. I got this one to replace my last FX-115 of 7 years which was accidentally doused in hydrochloric acid. This has a two line display, as well as a ton of functions (from stats to that suit the needs of the middle school student all the way to the college student. A solar panel means you will never have a "dead calculator" for homework or an exam, but the battery lasts for at least two years anyway. ...
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Sharp EL-1192BL Desktop 2 Color Printing Calculator

2009-11-20T14:53:00.001-08:00

... I purchased this for my husband who is a CPA. He has started tax season and is quite pleased with it. ...
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TI-Nspire CAS Graphing Calculator

2009-11-19T15:08:00.001-08:00

... This calculator *should* get 5 stars - it's got a lot going for it. But, for reasons that are completely mysterious, TI seems to have purposely left out a key feature that is supported in its older TI-89 line of calculators. Specifically this calc has no ability to plot a 3D surface (e.g. z=x^2+y^2), associated plots like level curves of multivariate functions, or arrow-fields showing solutions to differential equations. This is particularly mind-boggling because the TI-89 has all those features built-in. Given that the Nspire has a much more powerful CPU and much nicer graphics / screen than the TI-89, there's just no reason for it to be missing those features.
When I bought this unit I didn't even think to check whether it had those features - why would such a key feature for math/science be left out of a newer model with better graphics? The only reason I can think of would be if TI is still trying to "keep the TI-89 alive" by artificially creating some differentiating features between the two product lines. But clearly there is no technical reason.
I hope that TI will come out with an OS update that fixes this problem, but they have not done so yet. I will happily amend this review and score when they do. But for now, if you are really serious about calculating / plotting stuff for math, physics, or engineering you probably want to purchase a TI-89. ...
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Texas Instruments TI-NSpire Math and Science Handheld Graphing Calculator

2009-11-18T14:28:00.001-08:00

... My school loaned these to us for a year, so I had the opportunity of using the nspire alongside my ti-84+ silver edition. TI had some great ideas with the nspire, such as being able to multitask by keeping multiple things open at once with the tab based window management system and the nice big screen. However, in my experience it still takes me much longer to do actual math on this calculator than on my ti-84 once you get past pretty workbooks and things the teacher can distribute.

Pros:
Awesome data and statistics and Lists and spreadsheet programs. (Though their interface is a little confusing too.)
Cool file management system.
Tab based window management.

Cons:
Keyboard:
The number of buttons in the same amount (actually less) space has basically doubled with the addition of separate keys for each letter and symbol. At first, this seems like it might be a nice thing for typing, but in my experience it 1: causes a lot of mistakes when trying to type in numbers and consequently makes me type them much slower, and 2: actually causes me to type LETTERS slower. That's right, I was really bored in class and timed myself :-). Of course, I am something of a ti-84 touch typist, so that might have influenced that.

Graphs and Geometry:
Graphs and Geometry is by far the worse designed application on the inspire IMHO. Everything that is extremely straightforward and usually requires one or two button presses on the 83/84 takes travel through multiple menus etc... to figure out. For example, to change window settings on the nspire you have to press MENU, then WINDOW, then WINDOW SETTINGS. This may not seem that annoying, but, at least to me, it is. I wish they had a few more hard buttons that could accelerate these kinds of tasks. Another thing that doesn't work very well in Graphs and Geometry is trace. Accessing tracing is three key clicks, it is painfully slow, and it is also, as far as I know, the only way to find things like maximum and minimum values of a function. The y= window has been merged into the graphs and geometry window, which takes up space and obscures the graph, not to mention the confusing interface to switch between it and the graph. The labels for stuff on the graph which are always coming up often appear on top of one another and you have to drag them around to read them. But the most annoying thing about graphs and geometry for me is having to use the incredibly slow and cumbersome cursor/pointing device so much.

Lack of programmability and hackability:
On my Ti-84 I have tons of third party software, as well as some I've written myself. This includes interfaces to run assembly applications which are light years faster than Ti-BASIC, an awesome program called Omnicalc which adds a lot of features and another program called Symbolic which actually adds some symbolic math capability such as crude symbolic derivation and simplification of expressions to the calculator (like the ti-89.) I believe that the nspire, however, has DRM built in to prevent assembly programs from running and has practically no third party ti-BASIC software. I have not been able to run anything on my inspire- I typed in a prime number calculation program and couldn't make it run even after looking through the terrible documentation.

Conclusion:
Spare yourself a lot of hassle and get a ti-84. (Or I guess you could get an inspire and use the ti-84 keyboard, which I don't have.) You won't be sorry. Here's hoping for an nspire 2 with function keys just like the ti-89 and 84, a usable keyboard, and a more open and malleable software design. ...
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Sharp EL-334TB Semi-Desktop Basic Calculator

2009-11-17T14:44:00.001-08:00

... I had to replace my trusty TI calculator after 20 years of solid service (I bought it in high school!) recently when the total/equal button started to act up. It was a solar only calculator but it got the job done for years and years.

I took a chance on this Sharp and I'm pretty much hooked. By the way, the one I got doesn't match the photo so while the layout and display is the same, the body and the keys are different (more square with an aluminum body and a glass overlay over the top section where the display is). I actually think it looks better than the one shown.

Anyway, I primarily use a calculator when doing the bills/finances and sometimes for quick calculations while working (programming...it's easier to do that then actually write up some calculations in a program when the calculations are simple). My biggest concerns are:

- Visibility (screen and buttons need to be clear and easy to read from arms length)
- Function (I need memory, the usual math, and things like percent and +/- minimum)
- Speed/Usability (it shouldn't be slow, of course, and the button organization shouldn't make my life harder)

This calculator basically meet all of these challenges with an added bonus or two. The buttons and display are very clear (I think the dark text on lighter buttons actually works better than the pictured light on dark) and I'm already used to tapping things out. I'm a big guy with big fingers but the way this is laid out I never have a problem.

The added bonus here is the tax and grand total features. The tax feature lets you set a tax rate and then use +Tax and -Tax buttons to quickly add tax to items (i.e. enter 10 -> hit +Tax => Displays 10.825 for a 8.25% tax rate). Hitting it again will show you how much the tax was (it basically toggles between the total with tax and the tax itself). I don't use this feature nearly enough but if you deal with sales tax or realistically if you deal with a regular percentage (discounts, processing fees) that gets added or removed from a starting value, this feature's for you.

The Grand Total feature is another useful one that lets you tally up a series of calculations, like you'd expect, so you can calculate a grand total. You hit the Grand Total button twice then for each calculation hit Grand Total again to rack it up. For example, if you're adding up a number of items, you can multiple the quantity with the unit price and hit the tax button to get a line item total. Then hit Grand Total to add it to the overall total. Do that a few more times then when you've hit Grand Total with the last item you'll have your running tally. This reminds me of my TI's parentheses function where I could do a "sub-calculation" while stringing together a series of calculations rather than having to jot down or hit memory add. And, sure, this is basically like using memory add (M+) and memory recall (RM) but it feels better/easier since with a single button hit you get the add and the display of the current running total.

Overall, I'm really loving this calculator at the moment...assuming it lasts as long, this could be my new TI for the next 20 years. It's definitely slanted towards business and office use but it doesn't have a ton of advanced features that could get in the way for personal or basic school use. It's not a pocket calculator (it's almost the size of a DVD case) though it's light and easy to toss in a brief or backpack. ...
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Texas Instruments TI83 Graphing Calculator

2009-11-16T14:32:00.001-08:00

...
This calculator met most of my needs for a Statistics test I needed to take. It did not have advanced features (or I could not easily figure this out) such as multiple regression, ANOVA for randomized block design etc.

Overall, I liked the calculator for most of its features, but considering the cost of a new calculator, I would have expected some more advanced features. But I decided to buy a "almost like new" set for a much lower price, which worked fine for me. ...
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Sharp EL-1750V Portable Printing Color Calculator with Clock and Calendar

2009-11-15T13:17:00.001-08:00

... This calculator is perfect for my needs. I needed a good set of functions, printing, and a small footprint. It has all these features plus I can unplug it and use it on battery power. ...
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Canon P23-DH V 2 color mini-Desktop Printing Calculator

2009-11-14T14:23:00.001-08:00

... This is the 2nd one of these I've owned. It's the perfect size and does all I need it to do. ...
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Calculated Industries 3405 Real Estate Master IIIX Real Estate Finance Calculator

2009-11-13T14:53:00.001-08:00

... This is an awesome calculator.
Just make sure that you read the manual or take a class on how to use it.
You will be glad you did. ...
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Sharp EL-506WBBK Scientific Calculator

2009-11-12T15:08:00.001-08:00

... I am a practicing Electrical/Electronic Engineer and have had a Sharp EL-506 for eons that still works and is no bigger than 3" X 5" notecard. The EL-506WBBK is bigger but just manages to fit my shirt pocket. This calculator has approximately 470 functions and short of lengthy formulas covers statistics, trig/calculus, polar/rectangular conversions, and on and on. I will probably never use all of its features. Ten digits plus two exponent digits gives plenty of accuracy. For the price it is a steal! ...
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Texas Instruments TI-83-Plus Silver Edition

2009-11-11T14:28:00.001-08:00

... I'm very happy with the calculator that I bought. I received it very promptly. I don't have any complaints. ...
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Texas Instruments TI86 Graphing Calculator

2009-11-10T14:44:00.001-08:00

... i love it
works great

its the older model so if you want the newer ones get another ...
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Canon LS555H Calculator

2009-11-09T14:33:00.001-08:00

... great for tech math or financial math small face plate protected when not in use large digital read out great litlle calc ...
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Texas Instruments TI30XA Scientific Calculator

2009-11-08T13:17:00.001-08:00

... THIS IS EXCELLENT PRODUCT, THE PRICE IS LOW AND I GET ALL I NEED IN THIS SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR. IF YOU NEED ANY SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR YOU MUST BUY THIS TEXAS INSTRUMENT. ...
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Datexx DB-413 Checkbook Calculator

2009-11-07T14:24:00.001-08:00

... This checkbook calculator not only tracks your balance, but provides the date and time as well. Can follow three different accounts with this product. Didn't receive five stars because one time when I opened it I was greeted by a "blackened screen". It still worked, but was difficult to view with the blackened background. Thought I was going to have to send it back, but the next time I used it it was fine. ...
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Calculated Industries 3415 Qualifier Plus IIIX Real Estate Finance Calculator

2009-11-06T14:53:00.001-08:00

... Arrived very quickly. I will use this alot as it is easy to use. ...
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HP 48GII Graphic Calculator (F2226A)

2009-11-05T15:08:00.001-08:00

... MUY BUEN PRODUCTO LO RECIBI SELLADO EN SU BLISTER, BIENE CON SU MANUAL, EL CABLE USB Y EL CD PARA INSTALARLO EN LA COMPUTADORA ...
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Sharp EL-2630PIII Deluxe Heavy Duty Color Printing Calculator with Clock and Calendar

2009-11-04T14:28:00.001-08:00

... I used to be a bookkeeper, so a good, FAST, efficiently laid out keyboard is important to me. Though I no longer do that work, I still would never change from this calculator and am happy it's still available as mine finally lost its marbles and won't stop printing once it starts. (Probably it could be repaired, but these days, that's more expensive than getting a new one so...) Having the "total" key where it is -- by your thumb-- and having the single zero key a bar instead of a small key is WAY smart. You can really move on this keyboard. ...
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Calculated Industries 44080 Construction Master Pro Construction Calculator

2009-11-03T14:44:00.001-08:00

... I bought this desktop model for the home, after buying and using the Construction Master Pro Trig hand held calculator. The desktop model makes a great companion to the Pro Trig, which I use in the field for pipe fitting and rigging applications. Both of these products were some of the best purchases I have made, as they are very versatile and offer the most funtions that I use on a day to day basis. Before now, I have either been forced to use more than one calculating device, or keep a list of the frequently used mathmatical formulas on hand to complete my work. Now I am able to work with more speed and accuracy. The set up features are an asset, as I am able to program most of the functions to meet my specific needs. Again great product. It offers more bang for the buck than any other calculating device I have tried. I am a true believer in Calculated Industry products. ...
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