5 responses to “TI-30XS Multiview Calculator”

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  Engineer March 8th, 2010 at 19:09

  The calculator is very nice for the money as others have written. However, don’t buy this to give as a gift. It arrives in a bubble wrap bag and that’s it. No manual, no box, not even blister pack. Way too cheap looking to give as a gift since it looks like you’re giving a used item.

  Amazon help line was poor: “Download a manual.” Yes, I know I can do that but that didn’t answer the question, why no packaging. I’m sure TI doesn’t sell them in the store like that.
  Rating: 4 / 5

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  Edom March 8th, 2010 at 22:02

  After using CAS calculators for 10 years (hp48g,hp50g,ti92p), I couldn’t use any scientific calculator, they were too simplistic (even if they had a lot of features) – UNTIL THIS CALCULATOR CAME ALONG. The calculation history is implemented just like on ti92plus. You need a number from the previous calculations? Just “up” to it, and paste it into your new calculation you’re typing. And you can do this as many times as needed. Just grab the numbers from previous calculations and assemble new calculations. This works REALLY well for any involved problems (chemistry, physics, etc.)

  Now here come the gripes. The scientific notation is HORRIBLY implemented. Instead of “E” button to represent “x10^”, it has an actual “x10^” button, which types “x10^” for you (you can do it without the button, by typing X 1 0 ^). So what’s the problem?

  Here’s an example: what’s 8Mega/3kilo?. On most scientific calculator this would look like this “8e6/3e3″. On the ti30, however, this has to look like this “8×10^6/(3×10^3)”. Maybe it’s more proper, but it’s a lot messier, and you also MUST use parenthesis for the denominator (in order to make sure that the exponents are kept in the denominator as well), or you can use fractions (which are just as many keystrokes). The only way to make sure that the exponent part stays with the value is to put parenthesis around each scientific value. What I end up doing when doing calculations with any scientific notation is putting parenthesis around EVERY number. It’s dumb.

  I’m not sure why TI did this. It looks much more cumbersome and much more difficult to interpret and review. “8e6/3e3″ is right to the point, but TI engineers thought that “8×10^6/(3×10^3)” is much clearer.

  To compare it to other calculators
  
  I still like this calculator much more than the casio es115 or sharp w516. They’re all great calculators though (that have more features, like numeric integration, instant differentials, matricies and imaginary – I argue against those features in scientific calculators, because they’re so poorly implemented in comparison to how they’re implemented on true CAS calculators like HP50g or tiVoyage). HP35 (hp33 is very similar) is a very specialized machine, I’d only recommend it to people that are used to HP machines, and need programming capability; to most other normal people it’s as unintuitive as it gets (even RPN implementation is pretty strange in comparison to HP-28S,48,50 series).
  Rating: 4 / 5

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  Harold M. Coburn March 8th, 2010 at 23:12

  Good basic scientific calculator. Easy to learn and easy to use. Solar power means now battery changing.
  Rating: 5 / 5

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  Ben Chenevey March 9th, 2010 at 01:55

  I got this calculator in anticipation of the upcoming FE exam, and thus far have been impressed. The button layout is pretty similar to the TI graphing calculators, so right off the bat I was able to find everything i needed. The multiline screen is also really useful.
  
  In all, for the price it’s a really great buy for when you need something that’s less than a graphing calculator.
  Rating: 5 / 5

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  S. M. Mohammad March 9th, 2010 at 02:51

  I bought this for my College Algebra class, though I am sure I am going to be using it in many more of my classes, since I am a science major.

  The multiview comes in very very handy espically on homework. Being able to copy answers and plugging them back into the equation makes checking work easy. The keys are nicely spaced and the build on the calculator is solid.

  I know I am going to be using this calculator for years to come, and since I really cant afford to drop the $100+ on a graphing one, this is an excellent affordable alternative,(one sixth the price) that I would highly reccomend to anyone taking math extensive courses.
  Rating: 5 / 5