CasioCasio fx-CG500 Graphing Calculator – Touchscreen with Stylus | CAS Functionality, Drag-and-Drop | Ideal for Advanced Math, Calculus & Engineering

When I first bought this calculator I wasn't sure I'd like it. I typically like having at least the most common functions available on real keys. But after using it awhile it's grown on me. The interface is, IMO, very neatly designed. I discovered that I can have a button at the top of the screen that's always there that will open the financial application with just one touch instead of having to go through 2-4 menus as with other calculators. The split screen feature is nice, allowing me to open an app for a quick computation while still having my main calculation page showing in the other half of the window. It has a pretty large set of functions and I occasionally surprised at some of the things they added in there.However, while using the stylus to click things makes using the UI more precise, I do worry about the prospect of possibly losing the stylus. The stylus is stored in the calculator and seems to stay put really well so far; thus my main worry is that I might forget at some point to put it back in and then end up leaving it behind.I would not be disappointed to have this as my only calculator. I also have a HP Prime and a TI Nspire and I like the Prime a bit better. I has more real function keys, which I like, in the classic HP button style and I use my finger to select things in the UI instead of a stylus. It also has a rich set of features, but some seem to be a bit more buried to find than on the Casio. It also has a RPN mode, which I'd prefer if it was implemented a little better.The TI inspire I'd rank third. The touch pad to move the cursor around is sometimes frustrating to use and takes me more time to simply select the thing I want. If it had a touch screen as good as either the Prime or Casio it'd be a better contender. TI has designed its calculator with a heavy emphasis in the education market, which it dominates. It has a special press to test mode that allows instructors to lock out features that the instructor does not want the student to access in class or while taking a test, and has a blinking light that makes it easy for the instructor to see that each student has the press to test enabled. Students in that environment may have to use the Nspire as a result. It's not bad really, just not as nice as the Prime or the Casio, IMO.

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Casio, Texas Instrument, and HP each have a CAS (Computer Algebra System) graphing calculator model. I've used all three in calculus classes. My experience is as follows: 1) HP Prime - algorithms produced wrong results in calc II class. Notified HP and sold the calculator. 2) TI Nspire CX II CAS - I will admit up front that I am not a fan of the document-centric features of the Nspire series. The latest model is faster but eats up battery charge twice as fast, and has 10mb less user memory available. 3) Casio fx-CG500 - radically different user interface using a much larger screen. However, what really matters is the functionality. If you are taking calculus classes or above, you pretty much need a CAS graphing calculator. Here, the Casio fx-CG500 is a clear winner. It has more capability and features for higher math, and the user interface allows for much faster user input and all around ease of use. If you are a TI-Nspire fan, go to YouTube and search on Charlie Watson. You'll find a complete "course" on using the Casio (he uses the classpad 400 which is the same). His videos are just of couple of minutes each, and you will see for yourself in the first dozen or so videos just how much easier it is to do math on the Casio than the TI. If you keep watching, you also will see what the Casio can do that TI and HP cannot.Just so you know - I teach elementary and intermediate algebra at my local community college. I've used TI calculators since the very early 70's when they were red LEDs and used a 9-volt battery. I still have a TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, TI-84 Plus CE, TI-92 Plus, TI-Voyage 200, TI-89 Titanium, and TI-Nspire CX II CAS. As you can see, I am not a TI Nay-sayer, but in side by side comparisons with competing Casio models, Casio keeps coming out on top. I am not so sure that is surprising, since TI seems to have changed its focus from the end user to the education administrative policy makers.

The UI design of this calculator was just the best fit for me. I could not find a better calculator that fits what I wanted as the UI. To list some: 1) Pressing Shift with On works as Off. 2) The previous calculations remain printed on the screen, so as you continue doing different calculations, you can go back and see what you have done, or check if your input was right. 3) If you want to input something close to your previous input, you can go back with the cursor, recycle and modify it. 4) You can set variables with the name of your like and save them in folders. 5) The Exp key to input the index part of a scientific notation is located within the ten-key (actually twelve-key) block, allowing very natural input. 6) There is a ^ key for calculating power, placed on a par with the four arithmetic operators. 7) Parentheses keys are also included among the basic keys. ... These are just perfect.A significant drawback is that it takes a few seconds to turn On or Off, and the calculation is not as fast as the fastest HP model. That is a bit annoying, but given all the supreme UI interface, I could not think of choosing any other calculator than this.Very satisfied. I like the machine very much.