You present an interesting hypothesis, but I think you are overlooking the main market for calculators: educational institutions. A big part of that being middle and high schools. Furthermore, many college math/science courses require TI calculators. If TI begins marketing a "little computer," schools will be much less inclined to continue supporting the product, as it implies that student's playing games (or otherwise) in class is acceptable. Furthermore, to be a useful "little computer," it would need a better keyboard, which would most likely lead to the College Board banning it on its set of tests. In other words, the TI calculator will always need to be "just a calculator" to keep its main markets. Of course other devices could be created, but the line between them must not be blurred.

I agree....Someone in my grade was talking about something about a TI-98...and it was a graphing calc where you actually spoke to the calc and it responded ...I was anxious to get home and check ti.com when I thought: "TI's goal (with graphing calcs) is for educational uses....They would never make that...never...becauseit would look stupid taking a test and everyone talking to their calculator...If you didn't have a calc...you could just sit there and listen to your neighbors and you got the answer...so I doubt that TI will ever make "low-end computers" like that could connect to a non-graphical internet or something...no way...really TI doesn't like the fact that TI-xx calcs are being used to play games in class....

~Matt

First off why would you believe the kid who told about a 98 the idea is possible but stupid and I hope ti wouldn't make a calculator like that. Also how do you know Ti doesn't like the fact kids use their calcs to play games. I personally think they like it because it markets their calcs kids want a 86 versus a 82 because it has better games (in mine and maybe some others opinion) thus spending more money or buying the new calc like an 89 or a ti versus brand x because more people have tis and you can get games. Why do you think they put assembly support on their new calcs sure ti has made a couple finance our stat programs but to go out of their way for that.

I think the computers would be a great idea they would still make low end graphing calculators.

Actaully, that may be true. So far, we've done almost _nothing_ truly educational with assembly - just games. Perhaps TI has included built-in assembly in the latest models because they approve of their being used for non-educational purposes. You don't need assembly for math you don't need 96k or more RAM for math, and you sure don't need a user-expandable interface. (can you tell that I have an 86? ;)

I agree with you. Texas Instruments is not at all stupid. I have an 89 and I don't think TI meant for everybody to fill up all 500k with math variables/programs. I think it was Casio that invented graphing calculators but it was early TI-8x programers who made TI so polular. I think that TI's may be getting too popular in fact. I am a high school junior and I don't know of one person in my entire school who has a Casio or HP calc. I even know of some colleges (MSU for example) that require students to have an HP calculator, and that is probably because the profs. know that students wont be playing games on them. I wont be putting games on my 89 for a while. One, because there are no games; and two, games are fun but if all TI's are used for are games and cheating TI's reputation will decline.
I love playing games and making assembly programs but too much of a good thing isn't good at all.

I agree that TI are not stupid at all. It is not that the programmers have made TI popular, it is that TI is popular among programmers. Of all the calcs, the TI line is the CLOSEST to a basic computer. I had the chance (oh boy) to be in an unsuccesfull high school Calc AP class that had its curriculum based on the HP 38g. it was no fun at all. The calc is too slow in general and is like a calc version of a macintosh. I did have a 3 color Casio first and it was great to use but in the first week of class i saw the compatibility power of having a TI-85 and returned it to the store.
When it comes to the new versions of TIs it is simply evolving towards the goal of a $100 mini computer, just what this article is about. It is not simply a marketing ploy to corner the market, it is the way of making a useful machine that can be more than a calculator, and thus corner the market.

First of all, what's "...like a calc version of a macintosh..." supposed to mean? Mac are great. don't bash macs. Get With It, Get A Mac. But anyways...
TI-Claculators would be TI's if they had handwriting recognition, etc. They would be PDA's. I am a high school student and I own a Palm m100, and most of my teachers are fine with that. I even play games with it in class.
There are much better games for PDA's than there are for calculators. PDA's have a higher resolution and a bigger screen, and you can write programs for them using conventional programing languages, not machine specific basic.
TI's have their better sides. We used CBL's(calculator based laboratory) in my chemistry class. Those connect to and are controlled by a TI calculator. I don't know if this type of thing exists for anything else.
TI calcs should become computers. PDA's are closer to a computer than most graphic calculators, and if you want a handheld computer get a PDA, which can also be a graphing calculator. But if you just wnt a calculator, get a TI. Calculators are easier to use for calculating than PDA's since all the buttons are there, you don't have to switch screens to get them.
Also, buy a mac. Because macs are the best computers around. Because I said so. 'Nuff said.

Sorry I meant TI calcs should NOT become computers

Yay, the Negroponte's XO came out! :) Except it 300 bucks :(

I have gotten "Out of memory" errors doing math problems (with over 100KB of free RAM before I pressed enter) (mainly matrix calculations) on my TI-92+. :)

Texas Instruments included assembly support and expandability for things such as the applets. They knew games would be written but did it anyway. I'm sure that Texas Instruments does not support the use of games on calculators, just as I do not support it.

Oh really ? I have had T.I. programmable calculators since the '70s, yes a 59, and even back then you could buy a Games plug in module from T.I. themselves !!!

But the difference back then (regarding the availability of a Games module on the TI-58/59) was that the machine was not meant for the high school crowd. Don't know about you, but my '59 cost over $200 back in 1978 (about $1,000 in today's $$$). I suspect that the games were meant as a recreation for us Engineering types after slaving over smith charts and linear equations.

I don't think that TI now wants to associate their fine 86/89/92+ line with GameBoys.

"so I doubt that TI will ever make "low-end computers" like that could connect to a non-graphical internet or something...no way...really TI doesn't like the fact that TI-xx calcs are being used to play games in class.... "

Then why the hell did they include 384k of user memory with the TI-89? For programs to draw slope fields? Ha! Get real. It's hard enough to fill up a TI-86 with games, let alone a TI-89 with Educational Enhancers. Texas Instruments is not stupid. They know, like most of us in the user community know, that if TI plays the game right in front of the teachers and then turns around and plays it right in front of the customers, then their product will be not only sold to the kids, but mandated by the teachers!

WOW. 20 comments. Wicked cool.
Anyways:
The keyboards on all TIs are fine. The QWERTY on the 92 takes just as long to get used to as the ABCDE on (say) the 85. You do raise a good point, that the TI line of calculators is so darn successful precisely because they're marketed to educational institutions. But I believe TI could at the very least, acknowledge that TI calcs can do other things, and put that capability into future TIs.

In reference to the keyboard topic, we all know that having a QWERTY keyboard makes the calculator unusable on certain college-board tests, BUT... Why not make a QWERTY keyboard that plugs into the link port for use in the TI-OS or ASM software? If it were removable, then you could still use your calc on the tests. Later when you decide to type something up or take some notes, you could pop in your keyboard for quicker input. Then everybody's happy! :-D
I know that this idea has been toyed with, but why has it not yet been pushed to the final leg of the race?
[Hollering to all available devlopers:]
LET'S GET TOGETHER AND FINISH THIS THING!

That is a great idea. I love being able to input notes on my Graphing Calculator, but it takes to damn long! Instead of building akward QWERTY keyboard, why not do something with the calulator?
I have been thinking of writing a PALTY keyboard program for the TI-86. "What the heck is a PALTY Keyboard?" Well, a PALTY keyboard is a one handed designed keyoboard to minimize the travel time needed to enter numbers and letters on a keypad efficiently with one hand. I got the idea when I was fantasizing about getting a Palm Pilot. I noticed that one program available was for a PALTY keyboard to eliminate the time needed for the stylus to touch certain key functions. Why not develop something similar for the TI-8X Calcs? It would be extremely beneficial, instead of having to carry a small keyboard.

You could either build your own keyboard to plug into the link port, or program it.
I have a Palm Pilot and I'm not sure where you are getting this PALTY stuff from, but there is a company called halfkeyboard that uses half of a normal keyboard to type with one hand. www.halfkeyboard.com
Check out their site.

After having a calc for a few years u get used to the keyboard and can type reasonably fast.

Hey, I made a programm that converts the keyboard to QWERTY for the TI-82. It's so much better than the hunt-and-peck method i had to use for the ABCDE.

I so move.

-Alex the nerd