Texas Instruments TI-Nspire CX II CAS Color Graphing Calculator with Student Software (PC/Mac), Blue

This is the first TI product I have ever purchased. It is the first scientific/graphing calculator I have purchased. Several of the reviews gave warnings about the learning curve. I went in expecting it to be tough. It is. But that does not mean it was a bad purchase. I think that if you are a novice then this might be the ideal product for you. You won't have to relearn how you calculate. It seems like this is the direction that hi-end calculators are heading so why not jump in head first? Think of it like upgrading to a fancy new cell phone. You know you like that. This unit has a free downloadable version for your computer so you can use it in a larger size and explore features in a familiar environment. Be sure to make use of TI's website and watch the videos that user's have uploaded on youtube. I also bought the TI NSPIRE for Dummies book and it is a huge plus.

There is a moderate learning curve. The touchpad is great but it takes a little practice. The CAS has solved problems and formatted answers better than my HP49g and I highly recommend it. I think TI should make it easier to graph vertical lines. I was disappointed when it could not graph abs(x)<3. I had to graph x>-3 then graph x<3 using the text tool. I would be nice to be able to enter x= equations a easy as you can enter f(x)= equations. I teach math at a university and at a highschool and linear programming often has inequalities involving x<30 and the like. Also when there are several layers of inequalities it can be a little hard to distinguish the feasible region. TI could make it easier to change the background colors. The gray scale CAS model did a better job with the layered shading. Overall I would rate this calculator at the top of my favorite calculators.