I've been a user of the ti-83 and have an hw2 Ti-89, then one day I see that Ti releases the Nspire series, later to have the Nspire CX(with color) series.  I liked the community of the old school ti8x series and how it could load apps... however, I hear that you can't do this with the nspire series?

Any how, I'm looking for a new calculator, I'm the type of geek/tinkerer who likes to get my hands on gadgets.  I want CAS functionality, but since I hear you can load CAS on a non-CAS nspire(for the non-cx version at least), is there a reason to pick one over the other?


(again, I don't want to break any forum rules, please have patience or let me know)
What do you recommend for being not only a powerful calculator(with CAS functions), but also with mod-ability/tinkering? 

Last but not least, as a coder/tinkerer/modder(within legal boundaries), which calculator would you pick and why(between nspires:  touchpad, touchpad CAS, CX, CX CAS)?  Is there any real benefit of getting the CX series(I know it's backlit color, I know it has a rechargeable battery, it's slimmer/lighter, and I know it has more memory storage... but all these things I could live without to be honest...unless it has significantly more processing power than a non CX version...also I don't care about the gbc emulator either, lol).


Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the reply Dj Omnimaga.

I guess I won't be looking at the CX series then(I don't care about color).  

The CAS touchpad seems more of a logical choice(if I'm not mistaken, I can do pretty much everything that I can do on the ti-89? Integration? differentials?  imaginary numbers?)  I won't be using it for school as far as I can tell, it's just solely for being a collector/tinkerer(while also being functional).


Only reason I considered the non-CAS touchpad was because it comes with a Ti-84 emulator(doesn't it?), which can probably also run apps?  While also being able to load CAS?(but I just found out from you that it's a pain and not guaranteed, esp in the US.. which is where I am)


I haven't used the Nspires, but from what I understand there downloadable apps(officially from TI) to add functionality(chemistry, physics, more math stuff,etc.)?

I would absolutely recommend getting a CX non-cas. It can run so many more stuff, like the gameboy emulators in full-color It's awesome, especially for "tinkering" like you said. When you want to throw the CAS on it, just ask for help on the forums if you cannot figure it out.
I for one don't recommend getting a 84CSE: from what I've heard it is quite slow.

Hope that helps you choosing!

Also, remember that Axe came out LONG after the 84+ came out. I imagine some on-calc game programming language for the Nspire coming out some day too (I have stuff lying around, main bottleneck is learning how to access the screen in nspire c)

Personally I'd still go for some sort of powerful on-calc editor/compiler on the Nspires. Same for the Prizm. Bonus points for being a largely cross-compatible language.
Even if a person has their own computer it's still a lot more mobile to only need the calc to get things done Just need to take care/backup more

Are you only limited to TI calcs? What about a Casio calc? I really enjoy my 9750gII, the BASIC is powerful and runs at a decent speed, and they can also be programmed in C. They also have an iOS-esque menu (more friendlier than TI's command-line interface), and good filesystem tools.

What is command-line like in TI's OSes ?
On the contrary, I like TI's calc for having a key to go in every menu, while on Casio, you have to guess the first key then press the F# keys like twenty times before getting to the right token.

Quote from: Spyro543 on April 11, 2013, 10:46:53 am

Are you only limited to TI calcs? What about a Casio calc? I really enjoy my 9750gII, the BASIC is powerful and runs at a decent speed, and they can also be programmed in C. They also have an iOS-esque menu (more friendlier than TI's command-line interface), and good filesystem tools.

What is command-line like in TI's OSes ?
On the contrary, I like TI's calc for having a key to go in every menu, while on Casio, you have to guess the first key then press the F# keys like twenty times before getting to the right token.

Arrow keys and EXE button make menu navigation a lot easier.

I love discussions like this!

Are you going for a CX or non CX? Because the CX non-CAS is the most widely used right now. The CAS is amazing for math, though, and plus, I believe that CAS models have slightly better stats (Average CPU max on CX's is about 250Mhz, my CX CAS gets 264Mhz safely , and 16 Mb more storage space on CAS... )... But as of late, there is debate whether the 15 dollars is worth it. This is because of nLaunch, the tool that can be used to run a CAS operating system on a non-CAS Nspire. My observation, however, is that it is still a sketchy process that many experts on Nspires still have trouble with. Nspires are hard to hack, and it's often not worth it to newbs to hack it for any purpose except gaming. If gaming is what you want, then I'd get a CX CAS for storage space, and the CPU. If math is your game, (puns, my friends!), then you will have to decide: "Is it worth it to try to run a very different OS on a calculator that shouldn't support it at all?" because I have seen no newb-proof tutorials yet about that sort of thing yet...
CX CAS is my baby