TI Nspire CX CAS - does this ever go on sale?

[SoCal_Bear]

My goodness, this is an expensive calculator. Has anyone seen these go on sale? Or am I waiting for something that will never happen? 

I didn't see the point of getting the TI-84 series if I just have to replace it with a CX in a couple of years. 

[MamaSprout]

We watched for 4-5 months and did find a small sale somewhere- maybe Best Buy? 

[Roadrunner]

Why do you think we need to replace them? I shelled out $90 last year in TI-84 and hoping it will take my kid to college. What it is I don’t know? 
Asking because I need to buy another one for a younger sibling now. 

[SDMomof3]

 

37 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Why do you think we need to replace them? I shelled out $90 last year in TI-84 and hoping it will take my kid to college. What it is I don’t know? 
Asking because I need to buy another one for a younger sibling now. 

My dd used her TI-84 through college and is using in grad school. She was a CS major. 
 

[regentrude]

17 minutes ago, SDMomof3 said:

My dd used her TI-84 through college and is using in grad school. She was a CS major. 

Mine made it through their physics majors and never used any graphing calculator at all. Nor does DD use one for her CS masters.

[SoCal_Bear]

I'm starting to see this as the recommeneded calculator for college level classes and AP classes that I am seeing right now. Not saying you can't use TI-84 but functionality and ease of use is considerably higher. Saw TI-Nspire rec'd on Blue Tent, Wilson Hill, one of the PA classes.

https://www.techpoweredmath.com/ti-nspire-cx-review/

I'm also seeing that it is now a top recommended one for engineers.

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by calbear

[MamaSprout]

It is considerably easier to use than the TI-84 series. 

I'm not sure it's universal, though. Some schools use software like Maple instead, and Purdue Aerospace Engineering requires students use a TI-30XIIS for exams... so a lot of variety.

[Lanny]

@calbear   Question: Has your DC already taken the SAT and the ACT exams? (Unless the College Board and ACT have changed their rules in the past few years, CAS calculators are not permitted for those exams)

We bought one of the first TI84 Plus CE calculators sold by Amazon in the USA.  I think that was possibly during 2015. It didn't go on sale on Prime Day, but after Prime Day there was a day when it did go on sale and I bought it for my DD that day.

The original (OEM) TI battery died after approximately 12 months. I think it was still in warranty (in the USA) but we live in South America and cannot send things to the USA for warranty (the shipping going North is very expensive).

I was to use a very polite word, disappointed that the OEM battery died after so little time and searched on eBay and bought a battery from a Seller in NYC that sells a huge amount of Used or Refurbished TI calculators. The TI 84 Plus CE is still working, with that battery in it.   It isn't a TI OEM battery.

There was an additional issue that I don't believe was related to the battery failure and replacement, but it may have been. I think they were unrelated issues but this was years ago.  The calculator had a breakdown. Garbage on the display.  I searched on the TI web site and found the latest Firmware available and Downloaded that to my PC and then I flashed the new Firmware onto the calculator. It is still running with that Firmware version.

It went to UNC with my DD.   🙂

There are some weird things about how to do certain things with TI 84 Plus series calculators. When I ordered the calculator, I also ordered the "Dummies" book about the TI-84 Plus CE calculators. When the book arrived, DD thought I had wasted $ buying it, but sometime after that she told me that I was smart to buy the book for her because it helped her with a couple of things.

If your DC haven't taken the SAT and/or ACT exams, there is a "learning curve" with a TI 84 series calculator that are not intuitively obvious and one needs to practice with them, over time to learn how to do things.

 

[EKS]

I'm looking at Amazon right now and the CX II CAS is $137.  That is nothing given what the thing can do.  If your student is the sort that will use it to help them learn rather than just to get answers and move on, it can be a fabulous learning tool.  I don't use the graphing feature much since it is so much nicer to just do that on the computer, but if I were taking exams on campus, I would definitely use it to check my intuition about certain problems.

That said, some instructors will forbid use of CAS enabled calculators on exams.  It astounds me that it is on the list of approved calculators for the SAT and AP exams.

Edited July 27, 2021 by EKS

[RootAnn]

Two of the three colleges my DD#1 was serious about applying for forbid the usage of calculators of any type on their math exams until certain upper level classes (at which point they are of much less use). So, no calculators through Calculus 1, 2, 3, and Differential Equations. Obviously, this varies by university.

[regentrude]

51 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Two of the three colleges my DD#1 was serious about applying for forbid the usage of calculators of any type on their math exams until certain upper level classes (at which point they are of much less use). So, no calculators through Calculus 1, 2, 3, and Differential Equations. Obviously, this varies by university.

same at my uni. No calculators in math or physics exams.

[Lanny]

OP you can use the Free service on CamelCamelCamel.  Set it up to check Brand New from Amazon and also Brand New from 3rd party Sellers.   They will send you an email if it drops to your price. Also, you can see recent prices.    https://camelcamelcamel.com/