Looks basically like a TI-92+ with a few extra features which you will be able to download for the 92+ anyway. I wish TI would come out with something that is more of a step up from their other calculators, like one with color, that would make for some neat games.

Calculators basicly don't require a color screen. The popularity gained with a few games that would make use of this, doesn't weigh against the extra costs it would bring to implement such a screen. TI produces decent calculators and adds assembly support for us to play with...and that helps a bit to promote their calcs. A color screen or just a grey scale screen wouldn't further increase sales numbers.

However, this new calc is indeed a 92+, but dressed differently. As it will be sold for about the same price as a 92+, it will likely replace it.

As for the new features including a clock, desktop, notes program, excell like worksheet: they bring calculators closer to PDA's and that's, in my opinion, what it's all about. Let's just hope the new AMS 2.06 will have a few bug fixes too.

What's interesting about this (and the SE) is that it costs less than you would think for what it comes with. The Voyage 200 costs ~$200. An 89 and a USB Graph-Link cable (included w/Voyage 200) costs ~$200. More mem and such for less. Good deal in my mind (I still want an HP-49G though).

I got my 89+graph-link for $120

Where did you get your 89?

ebay or something

No, brand new, ordered from TI itself, just like my 83pse...

special offers for "teachers", that is...

calc.org sells brand new Ti-89's for $127, which is about the same price as a Ti-83 Plus SE.

Just my $0.02.

I got an SE (brand new in the box) for $71. It turned out to have problems so I sent it in and got a new one (and I got to keep my graphlink cable). Now I have three graphlink cable (computer things) and four calc-to-calc cables!

Ahem... TI 'Provides' assembly-how long have we had to petition them before they grudgingly release motes of information? How much have we got from them, versus from our fellow programmers?

TI has released many tools, but only after countless complaints, and even now things aren't optimium.

Compared to Palm, who activly encourges 3rd party software, until recently programmers had to pay $80 for 3 app signings.



Oh, and as to the new calc: I'm sure we'll crack into its asm soon, TI willing or not;)

TI is a commercial company. All they want is profit. It's really all quite logic what they do and have done if you keep that in mind.

They produce calculators and those don't need assembly support, until people hacked them anyway and TI started seeing the benefits. Now their most recent calculators all have assembly support (except the 73 which does have APPS). And that isn't because we petitioned them, it's because calcs are sold to children and children like to play games. Now there was one little problem there: teachers don't like children playing during their classes and it are schools who decide what type of calculator they'll be using. So today's calculators ended up with an assembly support that is a bit limited. The regular TI83 is a good example of that supporting only ascii hex code.

And then they came with the brilliant idea of APPs. Now third party sofware developers could easily implement extra functions into the calculator and even sell their APPs (because you can't simply copy them from one calculator to another). And TI could make some extra money by selling signatures. And because developing APPs isn't the easiest thing to do, they are made by the more intelligent and serious people between us who'd produce decent things. Note that the only game APP I've seen today is Detached's PuzzPack and that is a fairly innocent game package which even teachers play. Actually TI intended to attract third party compannies. If not, they wouldn't have released so many docs relating to the 83+ and APP development. However, it turned out that 83+ APP developers are mostly 'hobby' programmers producing freeware and so TI made a freeware APP sign utility publicly available. And that's it basicly, for the 83+ line, left without a future, without knowing what will happen next.

Now their attention seems to go back to the 89 line. They're trying, once again, to attract third party compannies by making calculators more interesting to program for. Having an icon desktop an a clock makes a calculator more than just a calculator and implies that APPS don't necessarily have to be math applications. And that opens doors for many sofware companies. In fact, calculators (or PLTs for that matter) are now allowed to be connected to a cell phone to check your email for instance. Where you used to be an insane nerd if you did such things in the past, they now seem a logical extension and that's what it's all about for TI. They're trying to open a new market for what used to be calculators.

It is very interesting what you say. And it is true. However Ti is a pretty mature company which makes most of its money from electical devices. Unlike Microsoft or your common .com company, they arnt going crazy about money, but some energy for this new development is understandable.

PDA's don't require color to function either. they are the exact same as B/W except that they have color, which adds a LOT of stuff if you think about it... maybe TI will release a color PDA-type calculator (a pda that is just as powerful and has all of the buttons an 89 has with a color screen and 240x240 resolution would be cool...(16-bit color, none of this 3 bit color that casio has))

Nice idea. But imagine how much memory you need to store 16 bit pictures? Also, the price will probably get to $300 and for that much money you can buy a real nice palm computer which will probably be much better.

Considering how much memory PDA's have, it would be nice to just get a CAS for them instead of adding a ton of features to a calculator.

Somehow, I doubt TI will enter the PDA market since Palm owns a little more than 70% of it. It is kind of like the computer market.... Micro$oft owns 90% of it. Trying to enter it is like trying to hike through hell and come back alive.

I wasn't thinking specifically TI, if Palm makes a CAS, it could take a piece out of TI's calculator market

Do Palm users need a CAS?

Yes. :-p

MS owns 90+% of the OS market, not the computer market. There are a lot more to PC's than OS's

it is much faster if you put a P4 1.7 ghz chip in your 83+. then add a external HDD.

Yeah, the clock is a nice addon many have been waiting for. I'd also like to see some sound capabilities, sorta like HP-49G since I don't like HP calcs. A slightly lower price would be nice too, cuz I think many people don't buy 92's for their high price.

TI calcs don't have built-in support for sound, but it can be done with an adapter and the right program.

No, they don't. Sound is another hardware hack like grayscale.

my question is "why does TI have to be so gay about now making their calcs as freeking good as they can be?" just the HW could easily add greyscale, they could multiply the speed by 4 (by replacing that one chip with the other one)... and they could add an on-calc compiler for the BASIC programs to make them run faster... (by finding asm equivalents and stuff)... anything else they could add with just software stuff?

*not as good as they can be

Actually, they can just overclock the calc by replacing a C4 capacitor. Also, quadrupling it's memory will cost almost nothing but they'd charge so much!

And what about BlueTooth? Wouldn't that be nice? Being able to connect your calculator to almost any device. You could have wireless networked calculators in class (nice to cheat ;-) ; easy synchronise it with a PC; surf the web with an UMTS mobile next to it; and even get information about the song playing in the CD-player behind you while doing your homework. Yeah I love the future :-)

I'm not even going to comment on this... if you REALLY feel the need to all this stuff with a calculator, you need a life.

Then again, I have no capacity for detecting sarcasm. Maybe you were kidding.

Obviously that device won't be called "calculator".

It can even be a remote control for a domotica system.

A what??

Basicly, a domotica system is everything that makes you able to sit down in your lazy chair and electronics do things for you.

e.g. open/close windows, turn on/off dim lights, fill your bath with warm water,... in a matter of speaking, it connects your alarmclock to your microwave.

Look man, A calculator is for making calculations, not for playing, if you want to play games, buy a PS2, if you want to play CD buy a CD player, but not a calculator.
And by the way Study instead of making cheats in test.

Point is that, before everybody gets a chip in his head to do calculations and to call somebody, electronic handheld technology will grow towards each other, forming one multi-functional device. With that device you can go straight to the supermarket after work and check what's still left in your frigerator.

Actually I'm speaking of a very general device with no function of itself. It must have a BlueTooth chip to allow communication with a wide variety of other electronic devices (cell phone, TV, radio, video, microwave,car,...).

And all you have to do as a user is installing applications on it depending on what functions you want it to have. If you want to be able to do calculations with it, then you must install a Calculator App. Need to be able to surf, then also install an Internet App. Remote control for your TV too? Then install a TV Remote Control App. Your TV provides you with what's currently in the air and you just pick out what you want.

I think there's a market for such a thing. Of course, there aren't much BlueTooth devices yet, so you wouldn't be able to do much. But if BlueTooth breaks through, this is the future.

Are you people crazy? This discussion is just as bad as when the new z80e was released. Many of us may have dreamed that TI would put it in a calc. With all due respect dream on. These things are calculators for crying out loud. TI is interested in selling calculators not full function computers. Yes, many great features have been added to the calcs by very inventive programmers, but it comes to a point where it is not worth it. If you want a computer, buy a computer. If you want a calculator, buy a calculator. Don't buy a calculator and complain because it is not a computer.

I was making speculations about what the future might bring, not implying that this will be the next step TI or any other company will take.

GREAT idea!

To bad it's 99% impossible.

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THIS COMES OUT....HOPEFULLY AN EMULATOR WILL BE MADE FOR IT WITH VTI..WILLIAM WHITE

what the new buyers should really look for is a good CAS computer algebra system, and not new apparatuses.
Texas instruments should think first of improving the rom of the ti89 and ti92+ before taking out a new apparatus, I suggest to you that they(ti) place in its web a section of suggestions to improve the rom, as the hp in htp://bugs.hpcalc.org

that somebody communicates with Texas instruments and hee sends him this message

Texas instruments should think first of improving the rom of the ti89 and ti92 before taking out a new apparatus, I suggest to you that they place in its web a section of suggestions to improve

I also suggest to T.I that take out an emulator de voyage 200, so that the new buyers prove it before buying it

lo que realmente deben buscar los nuevos compradores es un buen CAS sistema de álgebra computarizado, y no aparatos nuevos.
Texas instruments debe pensar primero en mejorar la rom de la ti89 y ti92+ antes de sacar un nuevo aparato, les sugiero a ti que coloquen en su web una sección de sugerencias para mejorar la rom, como lo hp en htp://bugs.hpcalc.org

Hojala que alguien se comunique con Texas instruments y le envíe este mensaje

También le sugiero a T.I que saquen un emulador de voyage 200, para que los nuevos compradores lo prueben antes de comprarlo