Ti84Plus Alternatives

[chavosaur]

So I'm in college, and I'm cringing here. Classes cost Moneys. Gas costs Moneys. Books costs Moneys.
Top it off with the fact that I now need a Ti84 plus calculator and that little shit is $100 and up ;O;
I'm dying for an alternative. An emulator (besides the PC Wabbit emulator, AT LEAST I have that) that I can buy for physical use, or an emulator for smartphones, or SOMETHING.
Does anyone know of an alternative to this over expensive calculator, or at least a cheap place to get this stupid thing?

 

[Ryukouki]

So I'm in college, and I'm cringing here. Classes cost Moneys. Gas costs Moneys. Books costs Moneys.
Top it off with the fact that I now need a Ti84 plus calculator and that little shit is $100 and up ;O;
I'm dying for an alternative. An emulator (besides the PC Wabbit emulator, AT LEAST I have that) that I can buy for physical use, or an emulator for smartphones, or SOMETHING.
Does anyone know of an alternative to this over expensive calculator, or at least a cheap place to get this stupid thing?

Try eBay. I got a TI89 for $40 on an auction. Looked almost brand new.

 

[trumpet-205]

What classes are you taking anyway? You don't need TI-84 or any graphics calculator for most courses. I survived all of my math courses (up to Differential Equation) with a scientific calculator.

The only instances I see the need for TI-84 is if you are taking Statistic. If you really need graphics calculator consider an used TI-83, or even some Casio.

 

[pyromaniac123]

I found an emulator but it's not the ti84plus

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Bisha.TI89Emu&hl=en_GB

You can download the ti89 os from the Texas Instruments site.

 

[Issac]

In our math classes here we weren't allowed to use calculators at all, except for Statistics. However, I bought my graphics calculator from my High School for like $30.. a Casio one.
This would be the equivalent to the one I have I guess. (Mine's oooold).

http://www.amazon.com/Casio-FX9750GII-Graphing-Calculator-FX-9750GII/dp/B00154GSQA

EDIT: I might add, that exact calculator is at it's cheapest $98 in Sweden, I checked price comparison sites.

 

[Snailface]

Found one that does the ti84plus. Its $4.99, but can probably be 'acquired' I suppose.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fms.ati

 

[JoostinOnline]

Go with an 83+. Calculators are where I got started programming (yes, I'm a huge nerd who owns multiple calculators and was part of an alternate OS for them) and the differences between the two models is insignificant if you are just using it for math. It has 2 (maybe 3) more functions than the 83+. The rest of the differences are just related to processor speed and flash memory.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

The TI 89 app works really well. But I can't imagine being allowed to use a phone on a test.

 

[Nathan Drake]

As a heads up, the TI-83+ does work wonders, and you can probably find a used one via eBay or something for dirt cheap since most college students have or have had one, but most don't really need one for more than one term, if ever actually needing a calculator of that caliber at all. To note though, if you do take a statistics course, the 83+ is missing one or two functions that your professor may not be as nice about mine in making it so you don't actually need them. Otherwise, do make it a point to get a physical calculator, and try to make it at least a TI-83+ in case you need specific programs from your professor or something. As well, you can't use phones or tablets on tests in college, and some professors may not even let you have electronics out in class (pretty much just good 'ol pen and paper notes). As well, having a dedicated calculator will save you from the woes of small battery life on smart phones and the like. Those TI calculators can run off a set of AAA batteries for freakin' ever.

 

[Ericthegreat]

I found an emulator but it's not the ti84plus

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Bisha.TI89Emu&hl=en_GB

You can download the ti89 os from the Texas Instruments site.

Gotta check if class is ok with that, some will want TI84plus ONLY.

 

[Sterling]

http://gbatemp.net/threads/good-calculator-homebrew-for-ds.55254/

http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/emulators/download-ds85-a-ti-85-calculator-emulator-r3-f11415.html

I used that one for a math class, and it worked great. Made for some great conversation material too.

 

[Qtis]

Going the scientific calculator road is never bad. While graphic calcs are pretty hand (have a TI-86 myself), its use is barred in most uni classes that I had in basic maths, physics (inc. dynamics, statics and structural analysis) and chemistry. Some courses did let you use a graphic calc, but those were kinda rare.

I'd recommend going eBay, since it's a better option in your case with all the extra fees in the States.

ps. All alternative calculators (smartphones, laptops, etc) were banned from my classes. This is mainly due to the reason that Finnish students are kinda creative in their use of everything with even basic remote control methods.. Also graphic calculators are good for writing equations into some kind of understandable form

 

[JoostinOnline]

Gotta check if class is ok with that, some will want TI84plus ONLY.

Then your professor is an idiot. TI-84 Plus offers almost no benefits over the TI-83 Plus, unless you are using it for games or programming. Since math is your real need for it, you can easily live without like 3 different functions that you probably wouldn't have a use for anyway.

I'd advise against the TI-89 (regular or Titanium) though, simply because the OS is very different, and it's unlikely that any of the examples in your textbook will apply to it.

 

[alphamule]

Or like you know, PROGRAM the function into it?

Seriously, though, by the time I got to higher calculus classes, I was just using my laptop. Even an old Pentium 3 ran circles around even the best TI-8x calculators. Derive 6 is the last version of a Windows-based symbolic calculator from TI? One thing I liked to do was run C++ or QBASIC programs to solve problems. If you have money, you can get Wolfram's programs, heh. I still have my DPGraph license, somewhere...

Pretty much, I was thinking of answering "Anything with Android on it" but for tests with strict hardware requirements, you really should get a TI-83/83+/84/84+ and only shell out for the model you need. In fact, the TI-81/82/5/6 were more accepted on some tests because they have no built-in symbolic solver! This was a killer if you shelled out the money for an 89/92 model. ;(

The calculators are so cheap now, that a few years ago I got several models just for playing around with them. We're talking $5-15. The exception was the 84+ (or Silver Edition) since it was really like the grand daddy to today's tablet PC's. You could do all kinds of things to them with all that memory. Now you can get that one for around $50 on eBay. I fully expect that calculators will have to be checked out and wiped/reimaged after every student uses them, in the future, if not already.

 

[Supercool330]

I suggest finding a TI-83+. It is essentially identical to the 84. The primary differences that might actually affect you are that the 84 supports mixed fractions (e.g. 8_1/3 instead of 25/3) which you should never use anyways, and it can be set at an OS level to always use fractions or decimals instead of being determined by the input. In terms of input, the 84 is curved, but otherwise the keypad is identical. The most significant differences between the two are that the 84 has a real time clock, more flash rom, and a faster processor. The 89 is my calculator of choice since it has a great deal of support for calculus (including some really complicated calculus) and even primitive support for abstract math (not much, but some), but it is a completely different best from the 84, so if that is what is being recommended, I don't think you will want to go that route. I wouldn't skimp too much on a calculator; depending on how far you want to go in math, physics, and to some extent chemistry (especially anything involving statistical mechanics), having a decent graphing calculator will save your ass more often than you can imagine. However, it sounds like an 83+ would be perfect for you, and you can find them used on amazon or ebay for like 40-50 bucks (I have seen them cheaper, but that is the cheapest I could find right now).

alphamule: I would love to see you program an RTC into an 83 XD

 

[JoostinOnline]

I suggest finding a TI-83+. It is essentially identical to the 84. The primary differences that might actually affect you are that the 84 supports mixed fractions (e.g. 8_1/3 instead of 25/3)

That's not true. They both support it. Where did you get a ridiculous idea like that?

 

[Supercool330]

Really? I never noticed the mixed fraction mode on my 83, of course I haven't used in 83 in like 10 years, and I never used mixed fraction mode at all. I was fairly certain there were some differences in how the 83 and 84 handled fractions and decimals, but I could be wrong, or I could be thinking of something else.

Ya, see these KB articles https://epsstore.ti.com/OA_HTML/csksxvm.jsp?nSetId=100810, https://epsstore.ti.com/OA_HTML/csksxvm.jsp?nSetId=100885. As far as I recall the 83 doesn't have os support for mixed numbers whereas the 84 does.

 

[grossaffe]

does it have to be a graphing calculator?

 

[JoostinOnline]

Really? I never noticed the mixed fraction mode on my 83, of course I haven't used in 83 in like 10 years, and I never used mixed fraction mode at all. I was fairly certain there were some differences in how the 83 and 84 handled fractions and decimals, but I could be wrong, or I could be thinking of something else.

Ya, see these KB articles https://epsstore.ti.com/OA_HTML/csksxvm.jsp?nSetId=100810, https://epsstore.ti.com/OA_HTML/csksxvm.jsp?nSetId=100885. As far as I recall the 83 doesn't have os support for mixed numbers whereas the 84 does.

I thought you meant you couldn't input them. Anyway, yeah, they added that kind of stuff to the 84+ in an attempt to downplay brandonw's work after the legal issues. It also seriously slowed down the calculator.

 

[Qtis]

Ah, of course. Forgot this entirely. Wolfram Alpha is the shit. Saves you a lot when doing the actual calculating.

www.wolframalpha.com