Casio Prizm keyboard

[Condo]

I recently tried a demo unit of a Casio Prizm at a local store. The large keys look great in pictures, but felt soft and squishy on the unit I handled. They don't look rubbery, but that's how they felt. I was considering getting one for my son who will attend high school in the Fall. (Yes I did check with the Math Department head, that recommended a TI-84 of course, but assured me that the assignments could be done on any similar function calculator.) I just thought the Prizm, being a newer model with a way better screen was a much better value. Handling this CG10 gave me a low impression of the build quality. Did anyone else get the same impression?

[Jlouis]

(02-18-2016 05:59 PM)Condo Wrote:  I recently tried a demo unit of a Casio Prizm at a local store. The large keys look great in pictures, but felt soft and squishy on the unit I handled. They don't look rubbery, but that's how they felt. I was considering getting one for my son who will attend high school in the Fall. (Yes I did check with the Math Department head, that recommended a TI-84 of course, but assured me that the assignments could be done on any similar function calculator.) I just thought the Prizm, being a newer model with a way better screen was a much better value. Handling this CG10 gave me a low impression of the build quality. Did anyone else get the same impression?

No, I think it is very well built and a very beautiful calculator.

For the keys, it is really soft, as all Casio, but it is solid and I never miss a keystroke with it, and the big size of the key amazes me, as the big fonts of the color display, unlike the TI fonts on the TI 89 and the Nspire CX CAS, which are in the Planck scale.

I don't think it is a professional calculator, because of the lack of tactile feedback (I guess it is not the right word, but I guess you understand what I mean). But for school, it is more than enough.

I think the Prizm is a wonderfull calculator, I practically did not read the manual, very intuitive indeed. And the display is amazing, plus the easy connection to a PC, just like a thumb drive.

And although originaly there is no CAS in it, I manage to install one, the Eingenmath CAS, thanks to a brilliant kid that ported it to the Prizm (I think I'm not allowed to link another calculator forum, but google it and you will find).

Believe me, the Prizm, IMHO, is better than the TI Nspire CX CAS, which is very confuse and dificult to learn, altough very powerfull.

But if you ask me what the color calculator that I prefer, it is indeed the Prime. First, because it has RPN. Second because it has touchscreen. And third, because it is HP
I don't have a real one, but I play with it a little with the windows and android emulators.

I don't know the TI 84, but you can get wrong with the Prizm or the Prime.

Cheers

JL

[Nigel (UK)]

(02-18-2016 05:59 PM)Condo Wrote:  I recently tried a demo unit of a Casio Prizm at a local store. The large keys look great in pictures, but felt soft and squishy on the unit I handled. They don't look rubbery, but that's how they felt. I was considering getting one for my son who will attend high school in the Fall. (Yes I did check with the Math Department head, that recommended a TI-84 of course, but assured me that the assignments could be done on any similar function calculator.) I just thought the Prizm, being a newer model with a way better screen was a much better value. Handling this CG10 gave me a low impression of the build quality. Did anyone else get the same impression?

I think it's a great calculator. [Note - I have the European model, CG-20: I assume the hardware is the same on each model.] The keyboard is the same as on all Casio models for many years now - soft, but the keys always register exactly once when pressed. I particularly like the display - similar colour calculators use hinting when rendering characters but on low resolutions the result is always fuzzy - whereas the Casio has fixed-sized fonts which are crystal clear. Sometimes the old ways are the best.

The Prizm isn't as powerful as a TI-nspire but it is far easier to use. I'm assuming that you've already considered and rejected the HP Prime which is a truly gorgeous machine.

If your maths department confirms that the Prizm is fine then it will be. The only disadvantage compared to a TI-84 is that you/your son will have to read the manual yourselves. There is quite a lot of hidden functionality. Also, it doesn't have the ability to play nearly so many games as the TI calculator; this may or may not be relevant.

Nigel (UK)

[Chasfield]

I like my ten year old Casio FX 9860G. The keyboard is reliable, display contrast perfect and it sits on a USB cable acting like a mass storage device. All USB enabled calculators should do this. Many don't and seem to be stuck in a weird, Kermit-fixated past, with some kind of drag and drop functionality laid on the top to paper over the cracks.

I wouldn't mind having a Casio Prizm but in the UK they were for a long time punishingly expensive, with a price point set to guarantee almost no sales whatsoever. 100 GBP is the mark at the moment, which is a bit better than it was when I was considering one.

I did buy a Prime, which, at the time, was much more fairly priced in the UK (kudos to HP). Its speed and pinch-to-zoom functionality are great.

[Condo]

Perhaps using a 35S as my everyday calculator made my a little over-sensative to the really soft keys of the Casio. I will reconsider. I did, after all, use a FX 451 in my second year of college and really liked it.
I'd love to get my youngest into a Prime, or a 50g for that matter, problem is that he is at an age where he perceives peer pressure at a maximum and his dad's intelligence at a minimum! When he goes though the learning curve for whatever calculator he gets I don't want frustration directed at me for nudging him that way. I think I'll get the Prime and get up to speed on it, then nonchalantly demonstrate on his homework. Maybe he can be turned from the dark side!

[Eddie W. Shore]

(02-18-2016 05:59 PM)Condo Wrote:  I recently tried a demo unit of a Casio Prizm at a local store. The large keys look great in pictures, but felt soft and squishy on the unit I handled. They don't look rubbery, but that's how they felt. I was considering getting one for my son who will attend high school in the Fall. (Yes I did check with the Math Department head, that recommended a TI-84 of course, but assured me that the assignments could be done on any similar function calculator.) I just thought the Prizm, being a newer model with a way better screen was a much better value. Handling this CG10 gave me a low impression of the build quality. Did anyone else get the same impression?

I'm OK with the Prizm keyboard. I like the large number keypad. Casio could have made the upper rows of keys a bit larger. Other than that, it's good.

Feature wise, the Prizm is on par with the TI-84.