MathsNet Graphic calculators

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There are many makes of graphic calculator on the market now and there appears to be stiff competition between them for customers. Here we review the main contenders.	What's available Unique functions table Texas Instruments Casio Sharp Hewlett Packard Internet resources Main Graphs page
For help and advice on using graphic calculators, try the MathsNet discussion forum Do you use graphic calculators? Make contact!

What's available

Here's a list of some of the main contenders for graphic calculator supreme:

Casio
fx-6000 series
fx-6200 series
fx-6300 series
fx-6500 series
fx-7000 series
fx-7300 series
fx-7400 series
fx-7500 series
fx-7700 series
fx-7800 series
fx-8000 series
fx-8500 series
fx-8700 series
fx-8800 series
fx-9700 series
cfx-9800 series
cfx-9850 series

Hewlett-Packard
HP 28 series
HP 48 series
HP 38G

Sharp
EL-5200
EL-9200 series
EL-9300 series
EL-9400 series
EL-9600 series

Texas Instruments
TI-80
TI-81
TI-82
TI-83
TI-84
TI-85
TI-86

MathsNet's choice is the TI-83 (or 84), closely followed by the EL-9600.

Unique functions table

The following table attempts to compare the functions on some similar graphic calculators. They might not be the latest, most up-to-date models but you should get some idea of how things are developing. The TI 92 is not included here. See a MathsNet article about it. If all calculators share identically a given function then it is not included.

This table is under construction - help needed!

Function	TI 83	Casio CFX9850G	Sharp EL 9600	HP 48G
Calc-Calc comms	cable link	cable link	cable link	infra-red link
Calc-MAC comms	cable link	?	cable link	cable link
3D graphing?	No	No	No	Yes
Statistics tests	Comprehensive	No	Comprehensive	No
Pen touch	No	No	Yes	No
Slide show	No	No	Yes	No
Plots x=c	?	Yes	?	?
(Updated thanks to Prof. Dr. L. Paditz.)

Casio

UCF Casio is a site selling Casio calculators and also offering educational materials. Find some Casio programs suitable for A-Level mathematics at CASPRO MATHS. Have a look at the worksheets from the Supercalculators through the Curriculum project based in Northern Ireland. At Prof. Dr. L. Paditz's site you will find a version of the Growing Dandelions program for the Casio CFX-9850G+.

Hewlett Packard

Visit the HP calculator site. Read an apparently unbiased view of the power of HP calculators. There's a page on the HP38G, HP39G and HP40G

Go to MathsNet.com to purchase mathematics resources