Re: Calculator for the blind Message #7 Posted by Katie on 10 Nov 2004, 10:10 p.m., in response to message #1 by Tom(UK)
Possibly the first talking calculator was the Speech+ from TSI http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/speech_.html
I have one of these and it's quite cool to listen too -- very mechanical sounding -- and because it instantly responds to key-presses it allows you to interrupt it's speech and make really weird echo-like sounds. It also came with an instruction manual on cassette tape.
It sold for a small fortune (around $1000, I think) when it first came out and several libraries obtained one or two for shared use. Although the web sites I've seen describe the speech chip set as being made by GI, the chips in my calculator say that HP made them, IIRC.
Edited: 11 Nov 2004, 1:51 a.m.
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