VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Visor & Deluxe (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)
-- TI-85 Visor/Springboard (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=1479)

In http://www.visorcentral.com/news.php3?id=504
James Hromadka makes the assertion that a TI 85 springboard module would sell like hotcakes. I want to counter that what Handspring should make (in conjunction with major calculator manunfacturers) are calculators that also are Palm OS compatible and use the springboard slot. Not only would these sell like hotcakes among students but engineers, scientists and financial analysts would like a calculator that is also world class organizer. If TI or HP's calculator divisions did this they would have a big winner.

quote:

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Originally posted by [email protected]:
engineers, scientists and financial analysts would like a calculator that is also world class organizer. If TI or HP's calculator divisions did this they would have a big winner.

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They currently have three major calculators... Finance, Scientific and graph.... amounting to almost $130.00.... I think i'd rather stick to the calculators available in the market... if that's the case. A $130 module.... for calculators.... for me, I dot think so.

Who wants all 3?

Infinity's powerOneFinance for $50 has over 400 built-in features including all of the financial, statistics, and scientific functions of the HP12C, HP 17BII, HP 19BII, and TI BAII+ calculators.

The least expensive of those HPs listed, the HP12C, is $65 and it doesn't have the ability to do many of the functions, including being able to print, use Memo Pad or the clipboard function that the software with the Visor would.

And who wants to carry around a PDA and a HP12C calculator?

Module? When software alone will do the job?

I only see two caveats to having a calculator springboard:

1) Standardized tests require certain calculators--a Visor could store a LOT of test answers on it and I doubt they'd let you use it there.

2) The price would have to be substantially lower--I really don't like the idea of having to use a stylus to press keys, whereis on a regular calculator I can just tap the keys with my finger while still holding my pencil.

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-Vincent
All these guys have no game, I wish I would have stayed

Vinny has an excellent point about standardized tests. TI had to "invent" the TI-89 for precisely this reason -- the TI-92 has a qwerty keyboard and so it was banned from the AP calculus exams. The 89 is the same thing as the 92 except the 89 is "vertical" (you have to hit the color keys to access the letters). (The 89 also doesn't have Cabri Geometry.) I was a grader for the AP Calculus exam this summer, and I can say categorically that a Visor with a TI-86/89/92 springboard would never be allowed -- too many ways to cheat with it.

That's why, in a long-lost post elsewhere in this board, I suggested that someone make a full-blown computer algebra system springboard, for example a springboard with the student version of Maple 6. I think having a mathematical tool like the TI-89 or Maple would still be of great use to professionals and students, despite the limitations it has for standardized tests. I could especially see me using such a springboard in conjunction with other PalmOS programs like Quicksheet -- for example, Maple 6 has the ability to work seamlessly with MS Excel on a PC.

And the limitations of using a stylus for input would be nullified by using a Stowaway or similar keyboard -- just pop the Visor in and voila, it's just like a TI-92.

-bertbert

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Robert Talbert
Division of Mathematics and Computer Science
Bethel College
Mishawaka, IN 46545

I still think that having an advanced math module would be great for the Visor. It could have an API so other apps could use it for processing complex algorithms.

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James Hromadka
VisorCentral.com
Personal Website: http://www.Hromadka.com

James, I like your idea of having other apps being able to use the SB to process information, however, I still think that there should be a software only solution.

A Visor is much more powerful than one of those TI calculators, and when you own a PDA why would you want to carry around another device? It would have to be a lot cheaper than a TI too, since we already have the hardware.

I actually bought an HP-6S calculator ($10) for my desk at work. Even though you can get very powerful calculator programs for the PalmOS, there are times when I actually want real buttons to push. I'm a software developer, and it does a dandy job of decimal/hex arithmetic.

I just leave it on my desk, so I don't carry both around with me all the time. On my Palm, I just run Kalk (a freeware RPN calculator) for on-the-go calculations.

Despite the flexibility of the PDA, I still think there's a place for advanced handheld calculators such as those made by TI and HP.