Customer Reviews

TI-Nspire CAS with Touchpad

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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

I'm sure there are teachers who love the nSpire, but I am not one of them. I have gone to workshops and sessions at conferences, and I even purchased the newest model (CAS with touchpad), but I don't get why it should replace the TI-89. It seems they are trying to provide a computer-like experience on a calculator, but to me, it only takes longer and is unsatisfying. The touchpad is tricky (and not as reliable as one on a laptop). If I want a computer-like experience, I'll use a computer! All of the important features (differentiate, integrate, functions, etc.) are several layers below, in menus, so everything takes more keystrokes. The graphics are good, but that alone is not enough to get me to bite.

I'm a rabid calculator fan and must say that the TI Nspire touchpad is by far the best calculator I've owned. Specifically, I bought the teacher bundle that includes a single license of the software. The only downside is that the manuals that came with the calculator are useless.

The best manual for how to use the calculator I've found is: TI-Nspire Technology Cliff Notes By Steve Ouellette (2nd Edition). With this Cliff Note and the examples already installed on the calculator, you can't go wrong!

Before I get to the warnings let me say that I love Ti calculators. I have never found one I did not like. This is an excellent calculator if used for it's intended purposes.

1) this does not provide any new functionality over the original Ti inspire cas. The old round directional pad functions just like the track pad except it is more precise. I would even go as far as saying that this is inferior to it's predecessor.

2) this, like it's predecessor has a full alphanumeric keyboard and high level algebraic manipulation software. Therefore it is not permitted on ANY standardized test. Not the sat's not the ap exams. Many college professors will not allow these during exams.

3) unlike the 80 and 90 series calculators there is no program editor. On top of that advanced math operations are not allowed in a function. Programs allow you to expand the functionality of your calculator. My random NxN invertable matrix generator has saved me hours of time over the course of my life and last I checked was downloaded by more than 12 million people. But programs like that cannot be written on or be run on any of the inspire line of calculators. This is why there is very little information on the web about how to use it better, you can't.

4) there are numerous small over sites that were not present in the 80 or 90 lines, such as lack of direct access to stored variables and no customization of menues, that advanced users will find irksome.

So here is what I reccomend:
Do not buy this calculator unless you are a collector.

If you are a colege student who needs to take a few advanced math courses. Get the old inspire cas

If you are a math major get an 89 or 92+ and really learn to use them well. go to ticalc.org to download programs to provide a greater range of functionality.

If you are in high school and don't consider yourself a math or science kind of person then get the inspire touchpad, not the cas the regular one. The way it displays the entries will greatly help you and you can replace the keypad with a special one that makes it backwards compatable with the 84. This way you can follow along if someone is using one. This version is accepted on all standardized tests.

If you are in high school and are a total geek, get the 89. The program editor and the customized menus will serve you well. Ticalc.org will be your best friend.

If you are a professional engineer or someone who has to apply a smal number (say 5-20) of formulas over and over and over all day long get yourself an inspire cas (the older one) and learn to love the "define" function. The the cas features will help when deriving equations and the file system helps keep things organized.

If you are currently an inspire cas owner just download the software update. You are not missing out on anything.

This review is from: Ti-nspire Touchpad Keypad (Electronics)
I've used several different types of TI Calculators: A basic scientific calculator in elementary school (TI-30x), a TI-84 Silver Edition for Algebra and Geometry, and the TI-Nspire for Algebra 2 and Pre-calculus. When I recently got online and saw that TI had released the new touchpad keypad along with the new Nspire calculators, I ordered the new keypad right away. After all, this new keypad has a touchpad, so it must be great... right?

Wrong. It first must be noted that the touchpad is likely the best part of this new keypad. The touchpad functions reasonably well, only occasionally freezing up. There is a small rivet in the middle of the touchpad, which sometimes causes interference (this is also the only area in which you can tap the keypad to click, evidently they could not spread this feature to the other few inches of the touchpad). If you enjoy manipulating graphs by dragging various lines to different places and watching the numbers change... then you will probably enjoy using the touchpad. However, the touchpad is useless for doing the usual calculations. As would be expected, using the keys on the calculator is much faster for navigating the various menus on the Nspire.

Calculators generally have the same layout. The numbers are arranged in the same order; the plus sign appears under the minus sign, the minus sign under the multiplication sign, and the multiplication sign under the division sign. The makers of this new keypad seemed to feel the need to change this... The results, well, just look at the image of the keypad. These operations now appear side by side in groups of two (so if you're used to the traditional layout, it's quite annoying). In fact, they have rearranged a lot of the buttons on this new keypad, some of which include:

1. Instead of the traditional SIN, COS, and TAN buttons appearing, there is now just one button labeled 'trig'. Which means if you want to use TAN, you now must press the 'trig' button three times and then press enter. It takes even more button presses to reach the inverse TAN (of course, if you care to spend even more time you can select this using the touchpad)!
2. The original Nspire keypad had 16 round gray buttons. This meant simple one button access to the imaginary number, the heavily used value pi, various punctuation marks, etc. This new keypad has just 6 round gray keys, meaning you will need to press more keys to get to the same symbols you could access with just one or two keys on the original keypad. To use pi now requires two presses, the imaginary number and theta: three.
3. And perhaps the biggest move is that all of the alphabet keys now appear at the bottom of the keypad. This means a few things: (1)If you were finally improving your Nspire typing skills, this keyboard is a different width than the original Nspire keypad. (2)The keys are now even more cramped together, making it uncomfortable to type. Those with large fingers might have trouble typing. (3)The shift key appears in a completely separate area than the keypad, not very handy.

And now a few comments regarding how the keys feel when pressing them:
1. The alphabet keys make a loud and annoying clicking noise when pressed.
2. The round gray buttons also make the same annoying clicking noise.
3. The remaining white keys, the enter, ctrl, shift, var, and del keys all feel about the same to press as the original Nspire keypad keys (thankfully).
4. The remaining black keys (the ones in groups of two) require little to no force to press at all and make hardly any noise compared to the rest of the keys. The difference in the force required to press down on these black keys verses the white number keys is quite annoying when making calculations.

Overall, this is not a good keypad upgrade. If you're used to using the first Nspire keypad, it has much better functionality, so there is no reason to switch to this keypad. The only functionality advantage (besides the touchpad) this keypad has over the original is the button which allows you immediate access to the Scratchpad (which seems to be a relatively pointless function that was added to OS 2.0). If they had simply added the touchpad to the original keypad it would have been a great upgrade, but they didn't.

One last note, this keypad does come with a free registration code for the TI-Nspire Student software, so if you're interested in that, then this may be worth the price.

This calculator has amazing capabilities. It far exceeds TI's old computer-based "Derive" software. The new touchpad is a big improvement over the old one--no more accidentally hitting alpha keys instead of numeric keys. The scratchpad in the latest version of the operating system is a big plus. On the downside, you still need to use on-line tutorials or a book such as "TI Nspire for Dummies" to figure out the features, even if you are very familiar with the TI-83/84 series.

This thing is bad ass, but takes time to get used to. As a mechanical engineering student (c/o 2010) I use my calculator in almost every class I have and so far the only calculator that comes close to this is the Ti-89! Symbolic math, as written operations, and clean matrices on one screen along with an intuitive graphing feature easily makes this the best call so far for advanced studies.

I was the first to bring this on campus, but since then I've seen several students rocking this calc in my engineering classes. Ti knocked another one out of the park with this one.

Before purchasing my Ti-nspire CAS, I owned and used the Ti-89 Titanium. I was skeptical if the nspire really was worth getting if I already had the 89, however I decided to try it out anyways. I am really glad I gave it a chance because although the two perform similar functions, the nspire performs the mathematics far more elegantly and in a way that is easier to understand. Overall, I find that the Ti-nspire is more user-friendly as it has many functions which allows users to manipulate/input stuff without needing to know the theory of the mathematics or programming behind it. For example, on the 89, you might have to write d(f(x),x) to say that you want the derivative of f(x) with respect to x. However, for the nspire, there is a built-in template that is easy for users to input in the function and the differentiating variable.