Customer Reviews

Texas Instruments TI1795SV Solar Calculator

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm SO happy to see they still make this model calculator! I've had mine for about ten years now and use it daily and it finally died today. I've used it so much I wore the paint off of the point key, and pulled it out tonight to check something and the plus key (finally) stopped working. This is an awesome and very tough little calculator, the display is nice and big and very easy to read in even low light (and I have poor vision), it's lightweight and I can easily throw it in the drawer without worrying about it getting damaged, but it's not so light you can't pound away on it without it slipping around (and it has two little rubber feet to keep it in place). And it's completely solar, no batteries to worry with. I just ordered another one tonight, and I'm so glad I don't have to get used to a different one (I key very fast and it keeps up with me), here's hoping my new one lasts another ten years :-)
Update - I just got this in the mail today and FYI the style number is the same but the design has changed (see photo comparisons above, the Amazon stock photo is incorrect). The new one is bigger and rounder, about a half inch wider and longer. It's also thicker and the key pad is 'ergonomically' rounded, which makes it a longer reach for short fingers. The buttons are a little bigger and there is an extra row of three at the top (rate, tax+, tax-) that I don't need. So it will take a little getting used to, I wish it was still the smaller size, but the display is still big and easy to read and the keys are quick.

I bought 2 of these calculators to take to some of my relatives in the Philippines. They live in a small farming village in rural northeastern Luzon. It's a jungle environment that has no utilities and the closest thing to a shop is a 3 hour jeep ride away. My relatives wanted some calculators for when they took their corn and banana crops to the buyers in town, so they could quickly figure if they were getting a fair deal for their stuff. The TI1795SV can handle the rough environment, with all the dust, dirt, and getting dropped & whatnot. It would be perfect if it was waterproof (it's not) but my relatives are being careful to carry the calculators in Ziplocs (amazing you can buy Ziplocs in the jungle but no batteries) during typhoons and not drop them in the river.

I had a more expensive TI calculator (business version model BA 20) on my desk that alwyas needs bright light to operate -- but has more functions. My wife has had this one for years, and I kept "robbing it" since it works in low light, is simple, has large keys and is easy to use. It's a perfect little calculator. Love it.

This review is for the SECOND version of this calculator, the slightly-larger, grey, BLACK and white model, with a rounded "mound" housing the keypad. I had actually ordered the older model -- the light-grey model, with the blue and white keys, slightly smaller, which I had had previously, but sadly lost. I had considered returning this newer model, but finally decided against it, as it is now listed as being discontinued by the manufacturer, so -- if I returned the newer one I did get, I very well might have gotten the same model back..........

I was, at first, extremely disappointed in the newer model. (Why both the newer model and the older model -- which look COMPLETELY DIFFERENT -- have the VERY SAME MODEL NUMBER is completely beyond me. I mean, people who work at Texas Instruments are supposed to be very intelligent and know what they are doing....but why they decided to give to truly different calculators the same model number is something I don't think I'll ever understand. I mean...what kind of "genuis" makes this very simple mistake? (one who wants to fool online and catalogue buyers, who have to trust that the packers will pack the right model, perhaps>)

That said, this NEWER model -- though larger and more-than-slightly bulkier than the older one -- does have a few advantages....I think.
I don't remember the older model having a "tax+" or "tax-" or "rate" key, nor do I remember it having a battery backup, as the newer model does.
This newer model has a nice little compartment for the battery, which need only be opened with a single screw. So, the entire back of the calculator need not be taken off -- with the slight dangers, therein, of getting dust into the machine, or disturbing the delicate circuitry, in the half a minute or so, that it takes to change the battery. With a neat little separate oompartment for the battery changing, the rest of the back of the machine need not be disturbed at all!

This is all the more important, as more and more calculators, sadly, are made with "no user-replaceable batteries" enclosed, (no -- one is instructed, in these other, still newer calculators, to take them to the nearest authorized repair shop, of the designated manufacturer -- and have them replaced there, like wrist-watch batteries! First wrist-watches, now calculators! Talk about planned obsolence! (Buy even this newer model 1795SV, and keep it close!)

Although the newer model 1795sv has a "wrap-around, windshield" numberical display, (instead of what is to me, the far more esthetically pleasing and clearer, "picture-frame" numberical display, found in the older model 1795sv), the numbers still are well-spaced and clear to view. It also has the nice, l a r g e numberic display, which is not only on this newer model 1795SV, but also on the older model 1795SV.....and also on the belated, dearly loved, and sadly lost original Texas Instrument "1795" model, (no "sv"), which I once had, and enjoyed more than both of the "1795sv" models put together! (It was small, handy, and a beautiful medium-bone-yellow in colour. It also seemed to stay on FOREVER -- pr at least an hour or so, if I remember correctly. Oh, that Texas Instruments would bring THAT model back, sigh!)

Well, this NEW m0del 1795SV -- though NOT the older, handier model 1795SV, nor the original model 1795 -- still has many good points, most of which are delineated above. It is also a desk-top model which can be carried in a pocket-book, if necessary -- and also in a briefcase, but not in a wallet. It is bigger than the two previous models in the Texas Instrument 1795 line...but does have that priceless customer-replacable battery chamber. Although I do prefer the previous two models, this newer one, now available, is not a bad little calculator, all things considered.

But I would still welcome, (greatly!), the return of the original 1795 model, and/or the original 1795sv.

I bought this calculator because it is an updated version of a model I've used in my office (and now in my home office) for about 10-15 years. My wife recently discovered it and I got tired of retrieving it, so I got her this one. Its got the same big display as my old one and even bigger keys. Great. But it has one new feature which is a definite downgrade - it's missing two feet. My old one has four rubber feet and it stays on the desk where you plant it. This one has two feet on the bottom edge and the thing skates around all over the place when you punch the keys - especially when you stroke them as rapidly as she does. It's a very good and dependable instrument and when I find a couple of rubber feet to stick on it, it'll be just a little bit less "improved" and as good as my old one.

It is good but compared to the other one I have, office depot brand, it is just okay. The problem is that the number screen dips away from you making it harder to see and closer to what using a traditional non desktop (flat) calculator feels like. It is thin and not easy to see. The design is okay I like the silver color but it is not a sheet of real metal like the other one. In short it is just okay ergonomically and cosmetically but I'm sure it is durable as it is made by TI. Don't expect anything more than a basic calculator.

Texas Instruments makes an excellent, relatively basic calculator with all the functions I need. The unit is sturdy; this is well made.

In addition to solid construction, there are quite a few calculator functions that should suffice unless you need a scientific calculator or another more advanced model. The keys are good sized; and this makes using them to calculate things very easy. You can expect this product to reliably add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers; and you get square root, percentage, a change sign key (to change from a negative number to a positive number), and three memory function keys as well. Great! I also like that the display uses commas when necessary.

There are three more function keys at the top of the buttons that read "(rate, tax+, tax-);" they are for calculating tax rates.

Although this is a solar powered calculator (you can also use it under a light), it can be used with batteries as an option. There is a battery compartment on the back of the calculator but rest assured you don't need to use it; solar power or using this on a desk with a lamp will make a battery unnecessary.

Overall, this is an excellent little calculator without the bells and whistles I just don't need. I highly recommend this item.

Has it all for basic daily work, with easy to read numerals with commas. Nice touch on the key pads.

My old calculator's number lights went out--3 or 8, 1 or 7, 4 or 9? But I liked it's size and shape so I searched for a similar one. This is almost the same except--much better!! The keys and numbers are larger, it has more operations, and does a neat trick: the first number and operation entered become a temporary constant. Like 2+2=4; 3=5; 4=6. Well worth the mere $15 to get it to my door. Made me glad the old one broke!

We were looking for a calculator that was large enough to actually use our fingers instead of some kind of pointer to hit the keys with. Seems like most were either too small or jumbo size (way too large) This one was just right and at a good price too.