Texas Instruments TI-Nspire with Touchpad Calculator Review & Giveaway

January 20, 2011 By Melanie Roberts

Texas Instruments has just taken graphing calculators to a whole new level. The TI-Nspire with Touchpad is a new toy for anyone that loves math or is taking any kind of higher math classes.

So what can this New TI-Nspire with Touchpad do?

The TI-Nspire with Touchpad

Touch it– Easy-glide Touchpad operates like a computer with a mouse
Graph it – The new Scratchpad on the enhanced home screen allows you to quickly perform calculations and graphs without saving your work.

All the software required to use this TI-Nspire with Touchpad Calculator is included in the package or can be downloaded and upgraded directly through Texas instruments website.What does the software do for me?

The student software enables your home computer to function just like the handheld graphing calculator. So you can use the larger screen to easily create, edit and transfer TI-Nspire documents between computer and handheld.
Just like a computer, you can save your documents.
Print out documents easily.
Share TI-Nspire documents between calculator and computer – and with your teacher.

There is also a FREE TI-84 Plus Keypad that you can order directly from Texas Instruments; When you snap on the TI-84 Plus Keypad, you get all the features of the TI-84Plus – a great added value

Using the TI-Nspire handheld as a TI-84 Plus will give you access to these built-in calculator software applications (Apps):

Cabri Jr.
Inequalities Graphing
LearningCheck
Periodic Table
Probability Simulations
Science Tools
StudyCards
Transformation Graphing
Vernier EasyData

TI-NSPIRE RECHARGEABLE BATTERY – Even though four AAA alkaline batteries are included, you can also choose to purchase the TI-Nspire Rechargeable Battery for extended battery life. It easily charges with the wall adapter that is included in its package, or you can use a USB cable to charge through the computer.

Permitted for testing: The TI-Nspire handheld–with TI-84 Plus Keypad inserted–can be used on exams that permit TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus family graphing calculators, such as SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP exams.

What did we think ? Wow what an amazing little machine, we came a long way from the standard calculator that we used to have back in the day; funny thing is back in the day when I went to school, we were not allowed to use a calculator at all !! Teachers did not think we would learn if we used a calculator; now look at how things changed and how much a calculator actually can do…

My Teen was absolutely in heaven when this calculator arrived; he is a huge Math geek and loves anything with numbers; Actually a few days prior to the arrival of this calculator I got a call from his Math teacher asking if she can move him into Algebra Honors, but have him teach the other kids in class as well. He loves it. So this calculator was a perfect fit for him.

My teen took it to school and started taking notes with the calculator and saved them, once at home he hooked it to the PC and printed out all the notes he took at school and was able to accomplish his homework; all in one machine. He was amazed, of course this calculator will do so much more for you from basic calculation to graphs and algebra, you name it it will do it.

I also contacted my son’s Math team and asked if the teachers would like to take a look and tell me what they thought about the TI-Nspire with Touchpad.

All the teachers that had a chance to “play” with this Calculator fell in love with it; they were amazed what it can do and all the different functions it had. Everyone was drooling over this little hand held TI-Nspire with Touchpad

This is what the head at the Math department at my son’s High school had to say about this calculator after spending some time “playing” with it “I does a lot of neat stuff, but it really is over kill for most students. If you were on the advanced math track and you knew you were going to major in math or a field that required math…then I would say yes to getting it”

And this is what my son’s Algebra Teacher had to say:

“I think for students on the Algebra I level it may be a bit complicated. I do think that kids that are more Mathematical would enjoy it and I love that you can type notes on it!! I also like the fact that you can plug it into a computer.”

So our conclusion is… this is a wonderful tool that is quite advanced, if you have a bright High school student that is very interested in math and even moving on to the college level or pursuing a career where math is a top priority, then this is wonderful tool and we would highly recommend this. It is an investment into your childs future, however if your child is already struggling in math, this calculator will confuse him/her quite a bit and you maybe should consider a different alternative. Two thumbs up for a wonderful product !!!

This Ti-Nspire retails for $150 and can be purchased online at Amazon.com Best Buy, Office Depot, Office Max, and in Canada at London Drugs. They even sell a specific teacher software pack too!

Texas Instrument graciously offered one of my readers this wonderful

Texas Instruments Ti-nspire Graphing Calculator with Touchpad

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