I would definitely get a CX CAS. The screen of the non-CX really sucks and the GBA emulator only works on a CX, plus you have much more storage space. The CX and the non-CX are both equally hackable at the moment. On the hardware side, the CAS and the non-CAS calculators are the same.
You could put a CAS OS on a non-CAS calculator, but as others have already said it isn't very easy to do.
Installing the hack for gaming is easy. Making your own assembly/C programs is a bit more difficult, some people have problems setting up a working development environment.

Iirc it's possible to have both a ndless'd 3.1 os and 3.2 somehow. Haven't done it myself, so I'm not sure of the details tho.
Lua is possible to use without ndless, however a ndless program might add extra functions.

Also worth noting is there's prolly a ton more 68k (ti-89 and similar calcs) than nspire programs because 68k calcs have been around since the 90's, and the nspires only since '07

3.2 is "improved" in that it has Lua physics simulation and text anti-aliasing (which is really ugly IMO)

3.2 is "improved" in that it has Lua physics simulation and text anti-aliasing (which is really ugly IMO)

Well, for a complete Lua changelog, take a look here : http://wiki.inspired-lua.org/Changes_in_OS_3.2

I'd definitely  recommend a CX. It has much more storage space than the non CX models. The non CX models are also know for having very crappy LCDs, where with the CX, you get a nice colour display.

I've heard of the issues in earlier models, but I thought that they were addressed, for the  most part, when the touchpad models came out.


At first, I was only open to Ti Nspire's (mostly the CAS touchpad..unless you guys recommend the CX CAS due to vast superiority).  However, I'll say this...

For roughly $50, I can get one or the other... either a Casio Prizm CG10, or a CAS touchpad(non CX)... I want to use it for some heavy duty math, and custom apps/programming for it helps a lot(which sucks that the new nspires are so locked down).   But which would you get for that price?  (which is why I have little motivation to get a CX CAS at the moment... because it costs quite a bit more right now).

Well, the Prizm lacks a CAS completely. From a programming standpoint, it's completely open though. You actually can find the Nspire CX(non CAS) for a decent price if you have access to Ebay, but it may take some time looking. I got mine for $70. I'd guess the same holds true for the CAS models too, I just happened to be looking for the non CAS.

Gotcha, that's a good deal ($70)!  I guess I can keep looking/wait. I'll definitely keep that in mind.  The two units I was talking about are new though(not that it matters, as long as it's in good condition).