TI-Nspire CAS with Touchpad

by Texas Instruments

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003EK7O1G
• Item model number: N2CAS/CLM/2L1
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #13 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Calculators > Basic
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 22, 2009

Product Description

TI-Nspire CAS Handheld with Touchpad. Allows educators and students to explore mathematical expressions in symbolic form. On the Home screen you can quickly perform calculations and graphing using the Scratchpad. Also includes TI's first learning handheld with touchpad technology operating more like a puter and making it easier to navigate. Handhelds can use the TI-Nspire Rechargeable Battery (not included). Clamshell Package.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, May 25, 2010

By 

M. Fanelli "mwfanelli" (Perryville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TI-Nspire CAS with Touchpad (Office Product)

Call me totally impressed! I have used the TI-83/84 calculators for years but rarely the advanced features they offered. I often found them to obscure and annoying. The Nspire takes a powerful document approach that is totally different than the Ti 83/84 series.

This Nspire CAS Touchpad is quite a revelation. It took me all of an hour to understand (with the Dummies book at my side) almost all the functions it offers. The keypad is clear and obvious unlike the first versions of the Nspire. I was amazed at how much I could do with this device with so little effort. I have been using Mathematica for many of the classes I teach. The Nspire can replace Mathematica for most of the things we do in undergraduate physics and engineering courses. That is impressive.

The large screen is a bonus. The characters are clear with high resolution. The large screen means that everything you do is easier to see and analyze. The screen is adjustable but it is still a calculator screen. You need light to see it well as it is not backlit like LCD computer monitors.

Some people compare the Nspire with the Ti-89. Sorry, no contest. This Inspire runs rings around the Ti-89, a calculator I never really liked. It is faster, easier to use and read, and a joy to use. Don't waste your time with the TI-89. Putting a little time in learning the Nspire paradigm will reward you.

The Nspire comes with desktop software that duplicates the functions of the calculator. On a MacBook Pro, it installed right away without problems. There is a link included with the software that allows you to backup and update the Nspire as well as move files back and forth.

The Nspire links up with the Venier Go! and EasyLink sensors. I haven't tried this yet but will in the next week or so. We have LabPros and LabQuests for our classes, but it will be fun to try the Nspire anyway.

I have not been so impressed with a calculator since my very first HP-15C too many years ago. It's even more impressive than my first professional slide rule! I very rarely gush about a product, but this device is something I have been looking for a very long time.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast graphing, very versatile, very different UI, August 11, 2010

By 

David J. Thompson "Shop Geek" (Sheridan, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TI-Nspire CAS with Touchpad (Office Product)

I'm in the process of trying to learn about ballistics. Although I am a computer programmer by trade, I wanted a more portable graphing solution for some of the rather complicated equations involved in long range target ballistics.

I first bought a TI-89 Platinum calculator - worked nicely, the UI was relatively intuitive, but it was fairly slow. So I started looking at HP and upscale TI graphing calculators. The TI Nspire seemed a good fit so I bought a regular one at a local office supply store. Unfortunately, the model I bought lacked some functionality I wanted which I found was provided by the CAS version of the same model line. Thus my purchase of the TI Nspire CAS calculator.

Important note to users of other/past graphing calculators: the Nspire line from TI is very focused on teaching math at high school and college levels. It's document based UI is more like a computer program than the old million button scientific graphing calculators before it.

The keyboard is three part:
top: navigation, both on screen (touch pad) and primary menus/features
mid: numeric and basic operators along with some more menus and shortcut keys
bot: alphabetic keyboard (not QWERTY!) for entry of function names and such along with some special function keys

Pros:
1. Fast - the calculations and graphing are significantly faster than on my TI-89 Platinum.
2. Extensive built in library.
3. Document based UI - once you get used to it, you'll probably like it a lot.
4. Scratchpad feature - easily use as calculator or for graphing without interrupting current document.
5. Nice screen size and resolution.
6. Programmability.
7. Very solid feeling, well built.
8. Nice feel to the upper and middle keyboard areas.

Cons:
1. Inadequate documentation - very little on the internal function libraries. I end up using my TI-89 manual much of the time.
2. A bit large and awkward.
3. Trackpad functionality is iffy at times. Doesn't always respond right away.
4. No backlight for the LCD - easy to use in well lit classrooms but not so much in low light situations. This is common in these calculators.
5. Not as much real world usage support on line as other calculators e.g. TI-8x series.
6. Bottom keyboard (alphabetic) keys are very small and click too much. Would prefer same feel as the rest of the keyboard instead.

Bottom line - it is a great calculator, well built, solid feeling, versatile. However, it is definitely a teaching tool. I expected more of a traditional calculator with a manual for real world use. I'm adapting but am still searching for applications and documentation that will make it more useful in my everyday needs.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Improvement!, May 9, 2010

By 

Daniel Rosales (Orlando, FL, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TI-Nspire CAS with Touchpad (Office Product)

This is much better than the TI-nspire CAS because it is much easier to enter numbers and variables. I always made mistakes on the old nspire and I'm really glad I got this one. When using graphs it allows you to use a pointer like you would on a computer using a touchpad.

Pros: design, data entry
Cons: bulky