Texas Instruments TI-Nspire Handheld with Touchpad Graphing Calculator

Rechargeable Battery Notice: The most important thing I want to point out is that the TI nspire --without CAS-- does NOT have a battery compartment for the rechargeable battery. I didn't find this mentioned anywhere, and bought the rechargeable battery at the same time. Unless you are: content with voiding any warranty; have the know-how to tinker with the insides; and are a competent tinkerer, the rechargeable battery will be useless to you. I've got the battery in mine and it's working beautifully, so it can be done. I'm also an engineering major, and how to add it is well beyond the scope of what I want to put in a review. Circuit Analysis/'i' in Matrix Notice: If you're thinking of getting this for circuit analysis, then I want to point out that the TI84+ keypad is no different from a standard TI84+ in terms of matrices. You CANNOT use i in a matrix on the TI84+, so that keypad will not work as-is for alternating current circuit analysis. There are actually enough variables on the TI84 to setup a program that can perform a Kramer's rule solution to a 2x3 or 3x4, however you'll have to program that yourself. The nspire keypad can handle imaginary numbers in matrices, but if you're coming from TI8x's, there WILL be a learning curve. I strongly suggest finding tutorials on the nspire-keypad if that is your goal with it. Ordering and Keypads Notice: I purchased from Texas Discount Electronics, and it came packaged with the calculator, both keypads, a USB cable, inexpensive batteries, and software. I found it to be a good deal. Whichever seller you decide to purchase from, make sure to find out if they include both keypads or not... I found that many only include the nspire keypad, and not the TI84+ keypad. The sellers that didn't include it usually sold it separately, so make sure you are aware of what you're ordering. If you need both, and it's not clear, ask the seller before you buy. Built-In Software: For my class use this semester, I'm running just the TI84+ keypad. For home use, I'm starting to toy with the nspire keypad, but I'm not yet comfortable with it. The TI84+ keypad takes substantially longer to boot up than a standard TI84+. If it times out and shuts off, it'll almost immediately power up again, however if you SHIFT-OFF then it will have to go through a 20-30 second boot process. Due to features of the nspire, it is disallowed in my math course (we aren't allowed calculators capable of symbolic math) so I must use the TI84+ keypad. It only takes a few seconds to swap keypads back and forth, then the boot process, should you have a want or need to jump between them. With the TI84+ keypad, it's instructor approved for no-symbolic-math-calculators. Bundled (PC) Software: The bundled software was fairly out of date, but that's the case with most devices today. Was functional, however I went to TI's website and obtained an up to date copy of everything I'm going to need for easy computer access. It does not have CAS, but being able to download and install programs from the many libraries online is quite a blessing. Construction: I've dropped it off a desk once, and screen is still intact. To swap keypads, you shut it off, slide a release, pull off keypad, and click new one in place. Dead simple. My calculator guts are a wee bit different than stock, due to a mod mentioned above. For those wanting to consider such a mod, there's plenty of room to add the battery where it's goes on the CAS model and the solder points are there, it's just missing connectors and access panel. Overall: Extremely happy with my purchase. Really wish I had seen that the non-CAS didn't take the rechargeable battery sooner, but it's all up and going now. It works great for my classes, and will for future classes. As it's a slide, remove, click to swap keypads, it's easily a calculator you can use most (if not all) of your college career and beyond. I have been and will be recommending it to everyone who asks me about it, just as a math majoring friend recommended it to me.

I recently purchased the Ti-nspire handheld for school. I was very pleased at the quick shipping from the supplier and am very pleased with the handheld. I am a new user of such a piece of electronics but that is why I am going back to school. I found the user interface fairly easy to use. The handheld has tutorials lessons pre-loaded on it to help guide you through using it. I am glad that to get the Ti-84 plus keypad for this device was relatively simple and easy by e-mailing texas instruments after registering. The keypad was shipping and in my possession within a week. My overall impression so far has been very positive with this. I also purchased Ti-nspire for dummies book to help along the way. I hope to at least scratch the potential of this devices capabilities this semester at school. I would certainly recommend this for someone looking for versatility. It's the best option I found in all the Ti-nspire series handhelds at least for me. The color version is fancy but I wouldn't have the compatibility to use the Ti-84 keypad. Looking forward to many different uses for this, algebra, biology and statistics. I would recommend this.

I got this calculator a couple of days ago with the rechargeable battery (You should get it if you buy this, the $15 dollars will save money in the long run). The calculator turns on quick. Has great features. The touchpad is like a computer trackpad. You just move your finger and it moves the mouse. It comes with many built in documents that teach you how to use the calculator. They're helpful if this is your first T.I. Nspire (This is my second). The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because you have to go to T.I.'s website to get your FREE T.I. 84 keypad and wait for them to ship it to you. Mine still is has not arrived. *Make sure to buy the rechargeable battery. *Go to [...] Have fun with your calculator!

I'll make this review short and sweet. While the Nspire is a great deal for the money you spend, I wish I had just gotten the CAS and got it over with. I got this one because you get an 84 keypad for free. However, I used the 84 pad only once and have been using the touchpad ever since. Had I known this Nspire pad would be so easy to use I would have just gone for the CAS in the first place. Sometimes you you have to play catch up in class on how to preform certain functions on the Nspire, but once you get used to it it's far easier than using the 84. I will most definitely be getting the Nspire CX CAS next seeing as how it's only ten dollars more than the LCD Nspire CAS. These are fantastic calculators and I don't know if I'll ever even bother trying any other variety including the TI-89. According to a customer service rep at TI I spoke to the only real difference between an 89 and Nspire is there are a few more engineering apps you can download for the 89. other than that they are the same functionally.

It's a great calculator in and of itself. However, the main selling point of this calculator for me (actually my daughter) is that it supports TI-84 compatibility mode, which is achieved by swapping in a TI-84 keyboard (provided for free by TI if you request on their website). It is as simple as pushing a slider in the back and sliding out the original NSpire click-pad keyboard, and slide in the TI-84 keyboard. Power on and you have yourself a TI-84 (compatible) calculator (so you have two calculators in one, so to speak). This is a must-have for any high school student as the teachers only teache them how to use the TI-84--if you have another model, you are on your own to figure out how to use the calculator. At the beginning of the school year, every one is looking for the TI-84 plus model, and the price was pushed to more than a hundred dollars, while this model was only sixty something (update: apparently I bought it when it was around its lowest price. Now it's back to $140). When the kids go to college and if they need a more powerful calculator, they can just swap back the NSpire click-pad keyboard. Voila!

This is a very hi tech, complicated piece of equipment! The funny thing is I had to buy this for my daughter who is in the 8th grade! I would have never made it out of 8th grade if I had to learn to use this thing. It has so many different functions for algebra, calculus, geometry, trigonometry, charts and graphs, it's a miracle just learning how to turn this thing on and off. It is put together very well, I have always been a fan of Texas Instruments products and this is no different. This can even be synced into a pc to download your charts and graphs, formulas etc. It has a keyboard on the bottom of it so that you can actually type text. I know this will get her through until her senior year and I just wonder what her kids will have to use in 30 years or so when they are in the 8th grade. This is so far advanced to what I used back in Jr. High school in the 70's.

I owned this calculator a few years ago and lost it. When I saw it on Amazon.com I knew that it was the one for me for various reasons. I have owned other calculators (probably 5) and the TI-Nspire has the best qualities of ALL of them then it has qualities that NONE of the other has. For example when dealing with Logarithms, you don't have to know the change of base formula because this one let's you put the base in yourself without going through a set of menu options to get it. The quality of the calculator was better than very good like I think it said. There were NO PROBLEMS with it at all and it even came with rechargeable batteries in it. It was here in less than a week, which REALLY surprised me. There were no problems with anything that I've noticed so far and I've had it now for over a month. Amazon.com came through for me greatly on this deal. I paid over 130 dollars for it the first time I bought it and this time I didn't pay half of that. Great buy. EXCELLENT PRODUCT.

This calculator is great it is really intuitive. During my college algebra class I feel like at least %25 of the class was spent tutoring students how to use their TI84s. Most of the time with the Nspire I could accomplish tasks at least 4-5 times faster than my class mates and not once did I need help from the instructor for calculator issues (which literally every single other student had to do at least once). It was so fast that two girls sitting around me took their TI84s back and bought the Nspire instead. The drag down menus and track pad are more like using a PC and lead to increased accuracy when entering formulas and graphing it also has faster turnover when calculating solutions. I also know that I am only using this calculator to maybe half of its potential so I'm pretty excited to really open it up for calculus and advanced stats. *one note, check with your instructor/institution for test compliance because from what I have gathered you cannot ever use an Nspire CAS for ANY test so that's why I bought this NON cas version

...c'est bien dommage qu'elle n'aie pas tenu bien longtemps. Elle a tenu un peu plus de deux ans il me semble mais c'est tout.