CasioCasio Touchscreen with Stylus Graphing Calculator, 4.8 (fx-CG500), Gray, 4.8-inch

When I first bought this calculator I wasn't sure I'd like it. I typically like having at least the most common functions available on real keys. But after using it awhile it's grown on me. The interface is, IMO, very neatly designed. I discovered that I can have a button at the top of the screen that's always there that will open the financial application with just one touch instead of having to go through 2-4 menus as with other calculators. The split screen feature is nice, allowing me to open an app for a quick computation while still having my main calculation page showing in the other half of the window. It has a pretty large set of functions and I occasionally surprised at some of the things they added in there.However, while using the stylus to click things makes using the UI more precise, I do worry about the prospect of possibly losing the stylus. The stylus is stored in the calculator and seems to stay put really well so far; thus my main worry is that I might forget at some point to put it back in and then end up leaving it behind.I would not be disappointed to have this as my only calculator. I also have a HP Prime and a TI Nspire and I like the Prime a bit better. I has more real function keys, which I like, in the classic HP button style and I use my finger to select things in the UI instead of a stylus. It also has a rich set of features, but some seem to be a bit more buried to find than on the Casio. It also has a RPN mode, which I'd prefer if it was implemented a little better.The TI inspire I'd rank third. The touch pad to move the cursor around is sometimes frustrating to use and takes me more time to simply select the thing I want. If it had a touch screen as good as either the Prime or Casio it'd be a better contender. TI has designed its calculator with a heavy emphasis in the education market, which it dominates. It has a special press to test mode that allows instructors to lock out features that the instructor does not want the student to access in class or while taking a test, and has a blinking light that makes it easy for the instructor to see that each student has the press to test enabled. Students in that environment may have to use the Nspire as a result. It's not bad really, just not as nice as the Prime or the Casio, IMO.

The UI design of this calculator was just the best fit for me. I could not find a better calculator that fits what I wanted as the UI. To list some: 1) Pressing Shift with On works as Off. 2) The previous calculations remain printed on the screen, so as you continue doing different calculations, you can go back and see what you have done, or check if your input was right. 3) If you want to input something close to your previous input, you can go back with the cursor, recycle and modify it. 4) You can set variables with the name of your like and save them in folders. 5) The Exp key to input the index part of a scientific notation is located within the ten-key (actually twelve-key) block, allowing very natural input. 6) There is a ^ key for calculating power, placed on a par with the four arithmetic operators. 7) Parentheses keys are also included among the basic keys. ... These are just perfect.A significant drawback is that it takes a few seconds to turn On or Off, and the calculation is not as fast as the fastest HP model. That is a bit annoying, but given all the supreme UI interface, I could not think of choosing any other calculator than this.Very satisfied. I like the machine very much.

Casio deserves a lot of credit for creating a truly innovative product that isn't constrained by outdated design conventions. Many manufacturers are still making calculators with interfaces that are decades old and don't take advantage of modern touchscreen technology. Casio started with a blank slate and designed something optimized for mathematics. The result is a machine that is a joy to use.I've owned many calculators in my life from the 1980s to the present, including classics like the HP 41-CX and HP 50G as well as various TI, Sharp and Casio scientific and engineering models. This is the first time I've used a calculator that did not require me to translate between the calculator's proprietary notation and what you would find in a math textbook or scientific paper. This is a wonderful thing!This machine is a very powerful tool for exploring and learning mathematics and, of course, calculating. The interface for entering equations and making graphs is intuitive and efficient. The display is large enough to view functions side-by-side with their graphs. The touch screen and stylus are precise and sensitive. You can buy calculators with faster processors but, in many cases, the time you might gain in calculation speed you will lose while trying to navigate their frustrating, quirky interfaces. If you love math, you owe it to yourself to get one of these. Well done Casio!