TI-92 series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TI-92 II, a slightly upgraded version of the TI-92, with a doubled RAM
Enlarge
TI-92 II, a slightly upgraded version of the TI-92, with a doubled RAM

The Texas Instruments TI-92 calculator, originally released in 1995, was a large calculator with a QWERTY keyboard. Because of this keyboard, it was given the status of a "computer" rather than "calculator" by American testing facilities and cannot be used on tests such as the SAT, while the similar TI-89 can be. Since its release it was upgraded by the TI-92 Plus, which itself has a successor in the Voyage 200.

Contents

[edit] The original version: TI-92

A programmable calculator, the TI-92 was the first symbolic calculator made by Texas Instruments. It came with a computer algebra system (CAS) based on DeriveTM, and was one of the first calculators to offer 3D graphing. The TI-92 was not allowed on most standardized tests due mostly to its QWERTY keyboard. Its larger size was also rather cumbersome compared to other graphing calculators. In response to these concerns, Texas Instruments introduced the TI-89 which is functionally similar to the original TI-92, but featured Flash ROM and 188KB RAM, and a smaller design without the QWERTY keyboard. The TI-92 was then replaced by the TI-92 Plus, which was essentially a TI-89 with the larger QWERTY keyboard design of the TI-92. Eventually, TI released the Voyage 200, which is a smaller, lighter version of the TI-92 Plus with a QWERTY keyboard and more Flash ROM. The TI-92 is no longer sold through TI or its dealers, and is very hard to come by in stores.

[edit] TI-92 Plus

The TI-92 Plus (or TI-92+) was released in 1998, slightly after the creation of the almost-identical (in terms of software) TI-89, while physically more similar to its predecessor, the TI-92 (which lacked Flash Memory). Besides increased memory over its predecessor, the TI-92 Plus also featured a sharper "black" screen, which had first appeared on the TI-89 and which eases viewing.

As of 2002, the TI-92 Plus was succeeded by the Voyage 200 and is no longer sold through TI or its dealers.

[edit] Voyage 200

Voyage 200.
Enlarge
Voyage 200.

Voyage 200 (also V200 and Voyage 200 PLT) was released in 2002, being the replacement for the TI-92 Plus, with its only hardware upgrade over that calculator being an increase in the amount of flash memory available (2.7 megabytes for the Voyage 200 vs. 702 kilobytes for the TI-92 Plus). It also features a somewhat smaller and more rounded case design.

Like its predecessor, Voyage 200 is an advanced calculator that supports plotting multiple functions on the same graph, parametric, polar, 3D, and differential equation graphing as well as sequence representations. Its symbolic calculation system is based on a trimmed version of the calculation software Derive. In addition to its algebra and calculus capabilities, the Voyage 200 is packaged with list, spreadsheet, and data processing applications and can perform curve fitting to a number of standard functions and other statistical analysis operations. The calculator can also run most programs written for the TI-89 and TI-92 as well as programs specifically written for it. A large number of applications, ranging from games to interactive periodic tables can be found online.

The V200 is easily mistaken for a PDA or a small computer because of its massive enclosure and its full QWERTY keyboard - a feature which disqualifies the calculator for use in many tests and examinations, including the American ACT and SAT. The TI-89 Titanium offers almost the same functionality in a smaller format.

The Voyage 200 is available through TI-approved dealers and costs around $170.

[edit] Features

TI-92 TI-92 Plus Voyage 200
User-available RAM 68 KB 188 KB 188 KB
User-available Flash ROM None 702 KB 2.7 MB
Display 240×128 240×128 240×128
Release 1995 1998 2002

Note. Official page specifies user-available ROM amount for TI-92 Plus as 702K [1], but other sources specify it as 388K [2]. This is due to the TI-92+ coming with The Geometer's Sketchpad pre-installed, which uses the 314 KB difference.

[edit] External links


Texas Instruments graphing calculators

Z80: TI-73x | TI-81 | TI-82 | TI-83x | TI-84x | TI-85 | TI-86
m68k: TI-89x | TI-92x and Voyage 200
Proprietary: TI-80 | TI-Nspire CAS

In other languages