TI-30XS Multiview Calculator

by Texas Instruments

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 2.7 x 0.4 inches ; 8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000PDFQ6K
• Item model number: 30XSMV/BK
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #3 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Calculators > Basic
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 25, 2007

Product Description

Texas Instruments TI-30XS MultiView Scientific Calculator TI30XSMV Calculators

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative, powerful, handy, and smart, September 21, 2007

By 

ScooterJohn (Potato Fields, Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TI-30XS Multiview Calculator (Office Product)

I recently got this exact calculator as I started up my Electronics college course. It's been nothing but amazing for me. Viewing multiple problems and answers at a time is good, but browsing your entire history with the arrow pad is great.

It intuitive too. While brosing through my previous entries, I found a few different answers that I wanted to plug in together and get the sum. I browsed my way up to one, and on a guess, hit ENTER. It placed that number in my new problem at the bottom. Okay, lets see if it will do it again... I hit PLUS, then browsed up and got another old answer. It not only remembered what I'd input so far on the new problem, but put my next selection exactly where I hoped! All this is probably in the manual, but this is so well designed, there are many cases like this example where things just work out the way I think they should.

One negative on this calculator is the CLEAR button and the DELETE button. I'm glad they spaced them apart, but they put the CLEAR button where I would think they'd put DELETE. And vice versa. I've looked at other Texas Instrument calculators, and this seems to be the convention... maybe it's just me.

I appreciate their use of the button "x10^n" instead of the "EE" button. I had no idea what EE would be without finding it in the manual, but I knew right away what to expect when I hit x10^n.

Lastly, this calculator's design and wording have been a great stepping stone for me, to get past the gap between dinky little arithmatic calculators and heavy-duty graphing calculators.

Highly recommended. Incredible buy.

65 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fails in comparison to other scientific non-graphing calculators, June 30, 2008

By 

Charlie (MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TI-30XS Multiview Calculator (Office Product)

Update: I wanted to add that the Casio FX-115ES is a SCIENTIFIC AND NON-GRAPHING CALCULATOR (same class as the TI-30XS MultiView) that handles everything the TI-30XS Multiview fails to cover such as integrals, derivatives, complex numbers, phasors, different log bases AND matrices.

I had been researching calculators for use on standardized exams now that many of the graphing calculators are banned.

The HP 33/35 calculators are too expensive and too "antiquated" to be of any use to me. I liked the TI-30XS MultiView because of the large display, but I later found out the 30XS MV lacked many features found on the Casio FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator and even other TI graphing calculators. After evaluating the FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator and TI-30XS MV, I came to the conclusion that the FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator is by FAR the superior calculator.

The TI-30XS MV is too basic of a calculator. I'd recommend it for elementary school use, perhaps even for algebra. For example it is unable to evaluate integrals or differentials and there is no direct option to select different logarithm bases using the 30XS (every second counts on a timed exam and I'd rather buy a scientific non-graphing calculator that handles different logarithmic bases directly). The 30XS also lacks the ability to process matrices which the Casio FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator does process. The 30XS does not recognize the imaginary domain, hence the lack of "i" or "j" (try to do square root of -1). This makes the 30XS useless for engineers that have to deal with the imaginary domain for vectors, polar math, etc... especially on timed exams. That reminds me, the 30XS cannot handle phasor angles intuitively. There's a whole menu system for angles that I have yet to figure out. One would imagine the creator of the TI-8x graphing calculators would make a half-way decent scientific calculator, but instead we end up with a children's calculator. In case you haven't noticed, the Casio FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator is clearly superior and performs many functions that are omitted on the TI-30XS.

Pros: Affordable scientific calculator, dual-power supply (Solar and battery), TI interface (intuitive for existing TI users), nice display

Cons: Funky hard-cover (doesn't slide in place like all other TI calculators), lack of a large number of important features. There's also a limit to how many characters or instructions you can put into a single line. I was adding up my grocery list and it ran out of memory.

Bottom line: I recommend looking at the Casio FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator instead of the TI-30XS MultiView, although the TI-30XS MV isn't physically a bad calculator. I just felt it was a child's toy compared to the Casio FX-115ES scientific non-graphing calculator.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall, mediocre with a few bright spots, August 2, 2010

By 

yezdinaka - See all my reviews

This review is from: TI-30XS Multiview Calculator (Office Product)

I had always used Casio and this is my first TI. My "objective" verdict after using this for 2 years: It has a few good points but on the whole is a rather mediocre model. For what I do on a daily basis, though, I am fairly happy with it.

Pros:
1. This is the most important for me. You can "drop down" results or entire calculations from a previous run anywhere into your current run. This way you can break down complex calculations into smaller chunks and simply drop them into subsequent calculations without having to save each result to memory and trying to recall the correct one each time. You can also scroll up many sets of calculations to review your previous numbers. The drop down feature, I think, is very unique to this.
2. Mathwrite: Many newer models have this so it is not a "set apart" feature but you can basically enter calculations exactly the way it is written on paper.
3. Statistics: 3 column data entry in the form of a table. Again not unique. User friently but not very efficient.
4. Build quality: This one is built like a tank. You can simply feel it.
5. Square root: It automatically puts an open parantheses which is convenient. A TI thing. Casio does not.
6. The cover: Some have said the closing and opening the lid is wierd. It was, initially. Now I am used to it, and actually kind of like it. More secure than a sliding cover.
7. The "What is this?" factor: The design, looks and color of this thing has attracted quite a few curious colleagues to my desk to ask about it. Sets it apart from the old HP RPNs, the fancy graphing calculators, the ho-hum Casios and the oh-yet-another TI.

Cons:
1. Bulky: For a calculator of otherwise average features, this one is large and bulky and I don't think there is an excuse for this. You cannot fit this into an average shirt pocket.
2. Speed: For no reason at all, after many calculations, an hourglass will appear on screen for several seconds even as you are typing and the screen freezes up. It can be annoying when you are in a time crunch and want some quick numbers. I have resorted to routinely clearing the memory after several repeated complex calculations especially in Mathwrite mode. It has helped a little but does not completely avoid the problem.
3. Keyboard layout: This I have realized is a TI thing. After using Casios for so many years, I have only one word to describe the keboard- CHAOS. Often, I have to search around a bit for a particular function like "log" or "pi". There seems to be no rhyme or reason for the way the keys are organized. On a Casio or Sharp, functions are organized and grouped together in a very logical manner. The "E" or "x10^n" key is somewhere in the middle of all the functions even though it is probably one of the more used functions. Should you not have it down below next to the numbers?
4. The "E" key: To enter 2E3, you type in 2 - x10^n - 3. Now if you need to do (2E3)2, you type in 2 - x10^n - 3 - x^2. Right? Wrong. That gives you the answer for 2 - x10^n - 6. Ridiculous. On a Casio, you simply type in 2 - E - 3 - x^2. Again, a TI thing and long time TI users are probably used to it but I think it is illogical.
5. The Ans key: You need to hit the shift key located on the top left corner and then the "ans" key located on the bottom right corner. Irritating. Sharp I believe uses the same layout.
7. The "Ans" approach: You can type in "+ 20" and it will automatically treat it as "Ans + 20". But you type in "sin" or "sqrt" and hit enter, it will NOT treat it as "sin(Ans)" or "sqrt(Ans)". There will a "Syntax Error". Casio will work just fine.
8. Wasted real estate: There are two keys that essentially do the same thing- convert fractions to decimals and vice versa.
9. The scroll pad: Small, hard and inconvenient. When you drop down stuff from previous calculations, you scroll up using the pad which is located on the top right, then hit enter which is on the bottom right. Bad layout.

Verdict:
My gripes about this calculator essentially boil down to its keyboard and input design. My "deal-sealer" for this calculator is its drop down feature. For what I do on a daily basis as an aerospace engineer, nothing beats it. It is almost like an RPN - Algebraic Entry love child. On the whole, I think it is a very mediocre calculator and a college student may be well-advised to get a Sharp or Casio. Yes, some of their models are built cheap and "plast-icky" but gone are the days when an engineer held on to his precious HP RPN calculator for decades like a rare treasure. Unless you are particularly careless with your stuff, even these calculators will last several years. If you are worried about it breaking down during your test, buy another one for back up. They come cheap. Ultimately, how good a calculator is depends on what the user wants from it. You could spend a 100 dollars getting a top-of-the-line model and use only 2% of its capabilities.

Hope this helps.