Casio Inc. Classpad 330 Graphing Calculator

I purchased this Casio ClassPad 330 through Amazon and Computer Brain Inc. I ordered the calculator on November 15 and I received it on November 18 via an express carrier. I am delighted by the responsiveness of Computer Brain and their working relationship with Amazon. It's an ideal partnership that gives buyers like me a great feeling of security, and attention at a great price. I bought the Casio 330 AFTER I already purchased the Hewlett-Packard 50G AND the Texas Instruments nSpire with TI-84 keyboard. The HP is a quality product built to the standards of their long line of calculators. The TI nSpire represents great value for the price along with a widespread user community. I kept the HP because of its external SD storage capability although it will take me a long time to master the keyboard and internal functions. I'd rather not spend the time required with the HP to master its capability. I was a former jet aircraft pilot and I like to joke that the HP is more complex than my old aircraft cockpits. Regrettably, I returned the TI nSpire/84 because the display was so dim that my eyes hurt after ten minutes of straining. When calculators like the TI have adjustments for contrast, it's really an erroneous understanding because when you increase font contrast, you also increase the contrast of the background screen which means the font does NOT improve relative to its screen background. The Casio 330 has tremendous contrast range which actually works. I even left the contrast setting at the default level because it is super, even for my old, tired eyes. The screen has stylus touch ability that HP and TI both lack. This makes the Casio operate a lot like a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). It's intuitive, responsive, and fun to work with. There are applications, functions, and modes of operation common to other high-end devices along with the ability to connect to a desktop. If you feel that Casio is limited to low-end, low-cost devices, think twice and give this calculator a chance. If you purchase it from Computer Brain through Amazon, you'll discover like I did that it's the perfect solution to other troublesome calculators. One last thing-the Casio comes with a hard-shell protective case, startup manuals, cable connectors, batteries, and the best news of all - IT'S NOT PACKED IN A BUBBLE-PACK which is often impossible to open. Casio comes in a nice, "retro" box.

Very functionable and easy to use after one week. Compare to other company in US it's the best calculator, I ever used.

The LCD diplay on these units (I have purchased two, now, with the identical problem) is so bad that the units are essentially unusable. The LCD display contrast is very, very low. (it is hard to believe that the contrast is even 10:1? (a good LCD computer monitor is about 500:1)) Even under the best lighting conditions, carefully holding the instrument just so, etc. the units are hardly even readable. I have 1) replaced the batteries (both the batteries that came with the units and these replacement batteries tested fully charged) 2) carefully adjusted the contrast (being unusable is the BEST that I could get, any other contrast is hopelelly worse) 3) reset the unit, etc. After the problem with the first unit, I looked at the Amazon.com reviews and the reviews did not mention this problem. I therefore, reasonably, assumed that this first unit was defective and so I arranged to exchange it for another one. Unfortunately, the second unit's display is equally abominable so I assume that this very unfortunate defect is intrinsic to the product.

Even though the display looks very bright and sharp in the picture on Amazon, I found it to have poor contrast no matter how I adjusted it. The numbers, characters and symbols are too small for me to read them. I returned the calculator for these reasons. Just a warning for those you over 60 like me.

I have been working with this machine for a bit over a week. I have come to the conclusion that this calculator will do everything with greater ease than my more expensive HP and TI machines will do. What amazes me is how easy it has been to learn how it works. The operating instructions are clear, understandable and accurate. My Casio is now producing solutions for me that I have tried very hard and failed to get from the TI and HP machines. Additionally, once the technique is mastered, the efficiency of being able to manipulate, edit, and drag things on the touch-screen makes working with it a real pleasure. The screen scrolls upward to contain many lines of input and results which can be either copied or dragged where you might want to use them again. Indeed, the numeric pad at the foot of the screen is essentially unnecessary-- I quickly learned to prefer using the on-screen keyboards almost exclusively. The stylus is an absolute necessity, and I will be ordering some extras from Casio soon due to my propensity for misplacing such things. It has a perfectly fine slot on the calculator's side for storing it, but I know myiself well enough to seek some spares. The only thing I can complain about is something that most users will not consider to be a fault. My tired old eyes, that are far from being as sharp as they once were, would have appreciated a display that would have permitted the graphics thereon to be a bit larger. The display is sharp and distinct, but I would have been happier with it a bit larger. It is not only a very capable and sophisticated calculator, but it is also fun to use. Of course, being able to easily manipulate and to fool around with all the 'what ifs' and 'why nots' that come to mind can waste a lot of time; but then they might possibly yield something exciting and useful.

Saw it, ordered it, received it, saved a lot of money on it, no fuss on it, little time spent all up, enough said, thanks ball boys and fans.