Sharp EL9600C Graphing Calculator Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This calculator is a very good one and one that works equivalently in all ways using either direct keystrokes or stylus motions. It is largely no longer available which is a shame, but some of the internal electronics software is clearly getting quite outdated (and a little bit sluggish compared to some other more recent calculators, etc.). It performs really well however, so if you want to try a stylus-based calculator to see if you would like a much more advanced one like the Casio Classpad330, this is a great one to try out.

All the expected standard (as well as several advanced functions) and numerous data plotting options (with split-screen capability including the option of both a table and a plot displayed simultaneously, etc.) and numerous and reliable statistical operations for detailed data analysis, etc. are available on this fine unit. It also comes with a slide-on, standard heavy plastic cover and a very good manual with very clearly explained operations and examples. I recommend it, if you can still find it, without any reservations.

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HP 33S Scientific Calculator (F2216A) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There has long been a real need for a high-quality scientific calculator for serious scientific and engineering professional, so I was glad to see HP back in the market with the HP-33S, a replacement for their popular HP-32SII (of which I own three!).With some caveats (see below), I've found this to be a very good scientific calculator, and probably the best one being manufactured today.I guess HP finally noticed that people are willing to pay over $300 for a used HP-32SII, and took the hint.

First, some general comments.I judged the overall quality of the calculator to be quite good.The keys have a good solid feel, like traditional HP calculators.It has about 80 times the memory of the HP-32SII, and I found it to run about 2.5 times faster.The manual is excellent -- clear and very well written, and similar to the HP-32SII manual.

The HP-33S has a few new features that weren't on the HP-32SII:

- Both RPN and algebraic entry modes.(The default is RPN.)I use RPN exclusively myself.
- Several new functions:cube, cube root, integer divide, remainder, greatest integer, and signum.
- A menu with 40 built-in physical constants (speed of light, electron charge, etc.).This is a great feature; I was constantly having to look up physical constants and store them in registers; now the constants are built in.
- A feature to shift the exponent of a number in engineering mode by factors of 1000.
- Four-way cursor keys (as you would find on a PDA or graphing calculator).
- Two-line display (to show both the X and Y registers).

The HP-33S does have a couple of drawbacks:

- Most importantly, as others have noted, the decimal point (and comma) are WAY too small.The decimal point can be difficult to see, especially when it comes after a digit 2.

- The rather bizarre V-shaped keyboard is a bit strange, but not really a problem.It just tends to give the keyboard a bit of a cluttered look.I'd rather see a traditional HP rectangular layout with blue and gold function keys on a dark background.

If you are a science or engineering professional or serious student, I would recommend this calculator as the best one being made today.Hopefully HP will come out with an HP-33SII that corrects the design problems -- then they'll have a five-star calculator.

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Product Description:
Pocket-sized and full-featured, the HP 33s Scientific Calculator is designed for engineers, surveyors, college students, scientists, and medical professionals. Its two-line display is easy to read, and at only 4.2 ounces, the unit slips easily into your pocket for travel.
Boasting both Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) and intuitive algebraic data entry modes, as well as 32 KB memory with 27 memory storage and recall functions, the 33s is ideal for solving a variety of science and engineering problems.
Functions include trigonometric, percentage, conversion, coordinate, time, angle, probability, factorial, gamma, fractions, and a variety of statistical operations. The calculator can solve equations, integrate, work with complex numbers, and is programmable. The 386-page manual thoroughly reviews the calculator's many features. When purchased new, the unit is backed by HP's one-year limited warranty.
What's in the Box
Calculator, two 3-volt lithium coin batteries (CR2032), instruction manual

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Sharp EL-W516B Scientific Calculator with WriteView (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just purchased the Sharp EL-W506 scientific calculator from the UK at a great low price (from Oxford Educational). However the new Sharp ELW516 now available on Amazon in the USA is apparently ALMOST equivalent to the Sharp EL-W506 (as indicated in the product manual, it is also equivalent to the ELW546). All three nearly identical units have been produced to replace the now discontinued Sharp EL-506WBBK calculator. These are all fabulously improved over the EL-506WBBK and I highly recommend their purchase even in comparison to the Casio FX-115ES (or FX-991ES in Europe) and even over the Casio FX-115ES Plus now available elsewhere.

PROS-
A summary of the most important improvements follows:

a) A catalog is now provided of all functions available within the machine and any of these commands can be stored on the function keys D1-D4 for easy and quick recall.

b) Write-view (Sharp trade mark) 4 line capability for displaying the full set of information on numerical evaluations of integrals and derivatives as well as any other algebraic manipulations. This is totally equivalent to the SVPAM or VPAM available on the Casio FX-115ES or ES Plus, etc.

c) A "Change" key to convert from Decimal to fractional forms and back again which is very similar to what is also found on the respectiveCasio machines.

d) Full control over the keyboard contrast is also now available.

e) 556 functions are claimed to be available on the new Sharp units as compared to a little over 400 on the FX-115ES (417 functions are claimed on the new FX-115ES Plus). There are also six modes that can be set to work within such as: Normal for integration, ordinary number crunching, etc., Complex numbers, Matrices, Lists, Equation solving, etc.

f) An on-screen form to be filled in is available for full and easy storage of all lists, matrices and vectors. Matrices are also easily manipulated into lists.

g) There is also a much improved set of information provided during the process of obtaining scientific constants and for the conversion of metric values to non-metric unit values as well.

h) Frequently used expressions that you are free to create are quickly and easily stored on the special keys F1-F4 for repeating computations. These same keys (unshifted) can also be used for a very useful multi-line playback of results as well. There are also separate D1-D4 keys (directly above the F1-F4 keys) for memory and expression storage as well giving the Sharp a large number of memory locations.

i) When the calculator turns off after 10 minutes of inactivity, the display resumes to indicate your results exactly where you left off and all work is NOT lost into cyberspace! This feature the Casio will not perform as all work is lost when the Casio is turned off!

j) Statistical functions are also input more intuitively and conveniently (arrangements have been changed on the keyboard) than on the EL-506WBBK as well (A set of up to 100 values can be input for 2 parameter statistics). All of the one parameter {x} and two parameter {x,y} statistical data (each separately specified with frequency of occurrence information) are also readily available on-screen with the touch of the central up-down, left-right control key, both before and after their entry for editing, etc. Unlike the Casio FX-115ES calculator which then consolidates the statistics calculations into a single isolated menu accessed from the keyboard, the Sharp has numerous specified keys shifted through the alpha key prompt to access all statistical results which makes its keyboard somewhat busy compared to the Casio, but still very useful and well organized.

k) The solutions displayed for both cubic and quadratic equations are now in a much more readable form as well as for the two and three values linear equation solutions.

l)A name or lengthy phrase with embedded spaces can also be readily stored deep within the machine that is automatically displayed with the Sharp Logo during the shutdown process. I believe that this new feature will tend to cut down on theft problems too.

m) The new EL-W506/516/546 now requires only a single LR44 backup battery unlike the EL-506WBBK which required 2 of these batteries.

n) Even after all this, its size hasn't changed at all and the new Sharps can still evaluate up to 4th order matrices whereas the Casio will only evaluate matrices as high as 3rd order!

o) The newly revised MATH menu is an excellent control feature for doing various operations within various modes as is the SET-UP control menu shifted on the same key.

CONS:

a) Numerical integrals on the new Sharp units are now a little slower to perform than on the Casio FX-115ES for example, but once complicated integrals are performed the time differences are much smaller.

Finally, in this global world of ours, I wish that both Sharp as well as Casio would do a better job of providing more reliable and truthful information not only to us the end users, but also to its N. American employees on the distribution to N. America of all of its various new products.

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Product Description:
The ELW516B scientific calculator by Sharp performs over 535 scientific functions and has seven different modes. It features WriteView technology which displays formulas as they are written in textbooks eliminating any confusion on how to enter each formula into the calculator. It has a large 4-line, 12-digit LCD display, ensuring that whole formulas will be visible. The playback feature allows you to make changes to formulas easily without having to start over from the beginning when you-ve entered a wrong key. It has four programmable function keys that you program for quick and easy access to the functions you use the most. The ELW516B has improved calculation speed for smooth operations. The hard cover helps prevent the calculator from dents or scratches. Calculator is solar and battery operated.

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