Graphing Calculators

>188 KB of RAM
>2.7 MB of Flash memory (ROM)
>$130

Guess which one doesn't belong.

Why are these graphing calculators so damn expensive!? Last year, I bought a TI-84 for a Calculus class.. $90.

TI doesn't appear to have a monopoly, as Casio also sells graphing calculators.

Surely someone has thought of graphing apps for iPhone/Android. Program a $5 graphing app and market it to schools everywhere (unless it violates patents -_-). I would hope schools would take advantage of that, and stop offering sacrifices to the monstrous TI behemoth.

I know what you mean, I never understood why they are so expensive, either. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because they know students need them and know they can get away with overpricing because of it.

And best part is, once I went started pharmacy school, they wouldn't allow us to use our graphing calculators anymore because people can cheat by punching answers/formulas into them.

It is pretty crazy.

That iPhone/Android idea is smart. There's gotta be people that have thought of it before.

Originally Posted by Willow-chan

I know what you mean, I never understood why they are so expensive, either. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because they know students need them and know they can get away with overpricing because of it.

It has to be because of that, but you still have competitors like Casio. So, I don't understand why teachers choose Texas Instruments.

They're expensive, because they know students MUST have them for school. Ergo, they charge out the ass because they can.

I think the reason why it is so expensive is because of all of the programs you can put on it. (i.e. helping with simple math, games and etc.) And you can do whole equations on the caculator if you do it correctly, which I find amazing.

I got mine from my sister, its old and crappy, but it still works like a new one, which I am happy for.

The iPhone idea wouldn't work because it would be too easy to cheat on tests (texting a friend for the answers).

But, like other people have said its because they know you need it, much like textbooks. Ironically, in post secondary studies most university courses don't allow graphing calculators.

But hey, you can play Mario in class without raising suspicion so its not all bad .

Originally Posted by Pietro

The iPhone idea wouldn't work because it would be too easy to cheat on tests (texting a friend for the answers).

This is very true, but it doesn't have to be iPhone/Android (as I mentioned in the OP).

Sometime 5+ years from now (when this hardware is dirt cheap), people could market tablets restricted to certain software. It could be sold to schools where students/teachers have access to word processors, graphing utilities, spreadsheets, presentation software, etc.

But, I suppose it's no exception to the same abuse seen by Texas Instruments. Someone could end up abusing the concept.

But, like other people have said its because they know you need it, much like textbooks. Ironically, in post secondary studies most university courses don't allow graphing calculators.

I'm in a college Calculus course and a TI-89 is required for Calc I, II, and III.

Few reasons, I suspect.

The big one is probably low demand, which means less mass production benefit, which means higher prices.

Other than that, yeah, graphing calculators are generally massively overpriced (they're also almost entirely empty space now, since their processors and RAM are so tiny) mostly because the industry has no incentive to modernize. An Android/iOS equivalent would take a while to develop (TI, at least, has fairly robust OSes on its calcs) but could conceivably be done and sold for very little. It's not as if there isn't equivalent software for laptops already.

I was able to get by in Algebra and Pre Cal classes with a TI-84 ROM (running in an emulator on PC), but this didn't work once I took a semester of Calculus last year(graphing calculator was required for tests, so laptops couldn't be used).

Also, how is there low demand for graphing calculators? I would've thought the opposite, with all of the college/high school students that need them for math classes (almost everyone in my previous math classes, and many of those not a part of my math courses, owned one).

Yeah, but that's still a fairly small market. Especially compared to almost all other computer markets.

Originally Posted by Re-L

This is very true, but it doesn't have to be iPhone/Android (as I mentioned in the OP).

Sometime 5+ years from now (when this hardware is dirt cheap), people could market tablets restricted to certain software. It could be sold to schools where students/teachers have access to word processors, graphing utilities, spreadsheets, presentation software, etc.

Textbook companies would try to block it, since every student having a tablet that could download e-books would put them out of business.

Originally Posted by Hell Hawk

Textbook companies would try to block it, since every student having a tablet that could download e-books would put them out of business.

Except that Textbooks companies are, or at least moving towards, already in the "ebook business".

eBooks tend to be cheaper than their physical counterparts (due to being partially subsidized by the price of their counterparts? I've no way of knowing).

They can adapt. Cut back on printing costs and move their remaining resources over to designing eBooks. If they can't adapt, then why are they, or should they be, in that business?