Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#11

Post by malandrew » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 3:03 AM UTC

flybrand wrote: post #9

I 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.

There's no reason that you couldn't make a simple open-source web-app calculator that performs all the functions of that calculator.

The TI-BAII+ is primitive in comparison to what is possible to program and create a web-gui.

Heck they have even made their own iPhone/iPad version:

http://itunes.apple.com/app/ba-ii-plus-tm-financial-calculat...

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#12

Post by brudgers » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 3:27 AM UTC

HP calculators defy Moore's law far more dramatically, after nearly 30 years the price has dropped slightly more than 50%.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-10C_series#HP-12C

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/215348-215348-...

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#13

Post by joe_bleau » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 3:50 AM UTC

flybrand wrote: post #9

I 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.

Really? I thought the HP-12C was still the gold standard in finance.

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#14

Post by RobGR » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 3:58 AM UTC

The major components of the calculator are the screen, buttons, and batteries -- I think those cost more then the silicon chips inside -- and those prices have not dropped as fast.

Nonetheless, they are overpriced.

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#15

Post by bapadna » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 4:50 AM UTC

joe_bleau wrote: post #13

flybrand wrote: post #9

I 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.

Really? I thought the HP-12C was still the gold standard in finance.

It is, and the HP-12C is allowed for the CFA exams.

That said, it's a very short list of what calculators are allowed.

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#16

Post by tgriesser » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 8:49 AM UTC

i remember thinking the same thing when i saw this:

http://xkcd.com/768/

maybe they cost so much now because there's only one engineer left who remembers how to make displays that crappy

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#17

Post by Dobbs » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 7:52 PM UTC

gaggle wrote: post #3

sahillavingia wrote: post #2

The 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…

I know many of my classes required that I own and use a TI throughout high school. Other types of calculators where not allowed.

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#18

Post by javanix » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 7:53 PM UTC

malandrew wrote: post #10

jacquesm wrote: post #6

The 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

Well, part of the reason why TI hardware is required and not just graphing software is that students often need something they can take home with them.

Laptops running GNU/Linux, despite having no software costs, will still be significantly more expensive than even $140 calculators.

What is needed is an open source, cheap hardware calculator, and as far as I know, nobody has anything like that on the market.

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#19

Post by loupgarou21 » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 9:27 PM UTC

When I was in high school, a TI-83 was required. Not just a graphing calculator, but specifically a TI-83 graphing calculator.

I'm guessing a lot of students are in the same position where the exact tool is specified which means there isn't much room for competing graphing calculators. No competition means no incentive to reduce pricing.

Re: Ask HN: Strange: Why haven't TI graphing calculators dropped in price?

#20

Post by m-photonic » Mon, Oct 04, 2010, 9:52 PM UTC

templaedhel wrote: post #5

Just 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.

Also, a large segment of the market for TI calculators is composed of high school students who wouldn't be able to use an iPhone app on a test (teachers often ban phones from tests since they could be used to get answers from a friend).