[akshaykarthik]

It's really interesting how calculator technology has stagnated over the years. I'm in a BC Calc class now where we are still using 89s. My teacher is aware of the nspire calculators and he frequently uses WolframAlpha but hardware wise, he still teaches off of the 89.

[fiatmoney]

With straight calculators, I don't know if there's a whole lot better for them to get than the 89. For anything more advanced than the built in computer algebra system and BASIC can handle (which goes quite a way, the CAS is really pretty good), you'd likely want to do on a "real" computer anyway, strictly for interface (screen and keyboard) reasons.

[tjoff]

While I agree that I've never really felt that limited by the 89 for something that I wanted to do on a calculator anyway, but the price is absolutely ridiculous. The prices on calculators have barely dropped anything the last 10 years (and the calculators themselves have barely adopted either, you still get 32 KB of ram on the lower end (that still cost > $100)) and if it weren't for schools requiring them I have a hard time seeing how they would survive.

For the same pricepoint you will pretty much be able to get an android tablet with many hundred megabytes of RAM and gigabytes of storage combined with WIFI, bluetooth etc. etc. But these devices will of course not be allowed on an exam.

Not saying that a regular calculator doesn't have advantages over a touch interface but damn are they overpriced and there sure are advantages to a tablet as well, being able to zoom a graph decently (fast) and having like a hundred times more real estate that you could easily copy+paste within etc.

Yes, I'd still want a real calculator but no, I would never buy one at the price point they sell today.

[peter_l_downs]

Relevant XKCD: http://xkcd.com/768/

[Zombieball]

Calculators can get / be WAY better than the TI-89. Look at the HP-50g for starters. (Insert TI vs. HP) / (Algebraic noation vs RPN) battle here

[capnrefsmmat]

Why do you say the HP-50g is so much better? I own one, but because I also own a copy of Mathematica, I end up using the HP only for in-class exams and such. The hardest work it gets is a few tricky integrals.

[peter_l_downs]

Lucky you! I'm the only one in my BC Calc class with an 89; everyone else has an 84, to which the teacher teaches.

[ohgodthecat]

At least integration is easy to do on the 89, I wasn't taught it and had to figure out how to do integration for the calculator section of one of the AP exams (BC or AB) on a ti 86 as our teacher did not teach us how to use our calculators at all.