According to Moore's law, graphing calculators should be super cheap right now, but TI sells standard graphing calculators for about $140 still. What's the deal?
Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
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Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#2The cost of making them is surely getting lower, in accordance with Moore's Law.
I would assume the price remains the same because they have little competition (almost a pseudo monopoly - it seems like they're the only one because their brand is so powerful) and a lot of demand.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#3The cost of making them is surely getting lower, in accordance with Moore's Law. I would assume the price remains the same because they have little competition (almost a pseudo monopoly - it seems like they're the only one because their brand is so powerful) and a lot of demand.
I would think that if someone manufactured a similar product which costs $15, the TI brand name wouldn't compensate for the price difference.
Perhaps it's a complex product and teachers won't switch products because they've invested so much into learning how to use the TI? And teachers decide what calculators are required for a given class? Maybe a competitor would have to get to the teachers first and convince them to use a cheaper alternative.
Another possibility: perhaps TI has some vital patents?
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#4When I was in school, many classes were standardized on particular models such as the TI-83 and TI-85. On the first day of class, my teachers would always say "I teach using this model and if you don't have it, you are on your own". I didn't want to be on my own so I bought the recommended model.
In business, you can price based on "cost plus a markup" or you can price based on what the market will bear. In the case of TI, they price based on what the market will bear.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#5Just an ineresting tidbit, wolfram|alpha originally tried to sell their iPhone app for $50 dollars with the rational that they offered a product that in many ways exceded the capibilities of a graphing calculator. Nobody bought it, because it was overpriced for an iPhone app. I know that I feel just as familiar using wolfram as I do using a TI.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#6The deal is that they are pretty much required and if you have a captive market then you can make your price whatever the poor folks will be able to pay for it.
Or would you like your child to be behind the rest of the class?
This sort of thing will happen whenever a piece of gear becomes 'mandated'.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#7One of the reasons TI calculators are so popular in schools is because TI works a lot with textbook producers. I worked for a company developing math books for a large publisher and we had a lot of contact with TI. they gave us tons of calculators, gave us pre-releases of new calculators and various other accessories. Thus we wrote our textbook targeting the TI calculators. This is why many textbooks come with TI specific instructions and come with software that only works with TI calculators.
This is probably the reason that many schools mandate these calculators, they're written into the curriculum by default. so it only natural to require them.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#8The cost of making them is surely getting lower, in accordance with Moore's Law. I would assume the price remains the same because they have little competition (almost a pseudo monopoly - it seems like they're the only one because their brand is so powerful) and a lot of demand.
I would think that if someone manufactured a similar product which costs $15, the TI brand name wouldn't compensate for the price difference. Perhaps it's a complex product and teachers won't switch products because they've invested so much into learning how to use the TI? And teachers decide what calculators are required for a given class? Maybe a competitor would have to get to the teachers first and convince them…
It might be worth paying some extra for TI because the UI is consistent with what your peers, textbooks and teacher uses.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#9I have my chartered finanial analyst (CFA) designation and the ti-ba II+ is the only calculator allowed for the 3 years of exams required to get the designation. It is a very simple device and this lock-in is the only way I would have paid $65 for each of the three I own.
Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?
#10The deal is that they are pretty much required and if you have a captive market then you can make your price whatever the poor folks will be able to pay for it. Or would you like your child to be behind the rest of the class? This sort of thing will happen whenever a piece of gear becomes 'mandated'.
This is why simple GNU/Linux based computers with open-source software should become the mandatory platform for schools.
There's no reason that TI graphing calculators should be mandatory in this day and age