OT: 4.1 Billion Mobile Phones and Counting. Message #1 Posted by Egan Ford on 6 Mar 2009, 3:44 p.m.
What this means is that the device most people will likely use and rely on in the future will be the cell phone, above all else. -- http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/03/report-60-of-wo.html
That's a lot of phones. And I'd wager that each has a primitive calculator (4 banger), possibly making the mobile phone the number one calculator in terms of volume.
My phone of choice is the iPhone.
My iPhone with i41CX+ has become my primary calculator (desktop and on the road). The overlay support, QWERTY entry, printer, I/O, speed, and size of the iPhone w/ i41CX+ outweighs the to-be-missed tactile keyboard of the original.
Free42 for the iPhone is a serious contender, but lacks a few critical features such as I/O and saved printer output. As they become available its going to be hard to pick (but, do I really have too?).
Of course there are Eric's lovely Voyagers. Still my favorite calculators of all time. If I had to rebuild civilization, I'd be with a real 15C and it's 20 year battery life. So, why is i41CX+ my favorite you ask? Because I can use it single handedly with one thumb. With the 15C, I'd have to take my other hand of the steering wheel. (just kidding :-)
I see a bright future for emulators and even original ideas for touch screen phones. E.g. the SpaceTime calculator. It's almost like Mathematica or Maple in your pocket.
Oh, I'll continue to collect and use the real thing, because I want to, because its my passion to make these old things do amazing things. I and suspect that this is true for many here as well.
Edited: 6 Mar 2009, 4:00 p.m.
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