Re: 33s and 32sii keyboard issues Message #6 Posted by Crawl on 6 Oct 2005, 10:39 p.m., in response to message #3 by Ron Ross
Quote:
I suspect (and actually recommend) you will buy a Ti. And their new calculator keyboards are fairly rugged and will probably hold up longer than an Hp for your use.
I can't agree that TI scientific calculators are rugged, and wouldn't second a recommendation.
I have had two different model TI scientifics die on me, in only about a year of use each. The keyboard died on one. For the other, either the CPU, display, or solar cell got loose. (The calculator would intermittently work if I squeezed the back) I opened it up and was surprised to see that neither the LCD nor the solar cell were physically connected to anything; only the pressure of the back plate kept them in place.
I've used (but don't own) the latest 30IIX model, and wasn't impressed at all. It seems like sometimes keypresses don't register (and I've used an older 49G+, and the problem with the TI is MUCH worse in my opinion and experience). It's dual battery/solar powered, but if you want to change the battery, unscrewing the calculator isn't enough. It seems like the front and back halves are sealed together, and you'll have to snap them apart. Maybe the calculator was designed to be disposable.
I heard from someone today that his Ti 30IIX stopped working, so I doubt they're any more durable than the TIs I had that died.
Also, it's rather feature poor compared to, say, the Sharp 506w.
The TI36x might seem slightly more solid (but I haven't given it much "rough love"), but it has had some known bugs for quite a while.
As far as I'm concerned, the only TI I think is worth owning is the TI89, but if you just want pure number crunching it might be overkill. I don't know how much I can vouch for the ruggedness of it, but I have dropped one at least a couple of times (when the case was on it, protecting the front), and the battery back came off and the batteries flew everywhere, but it was otherwise unaffected.
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