why are TI graphing calculators still so expensive

[debrouxl]

It's too bad the 84+CE is so expensive, as a special case of general gross overpricing of graphing calculator models.. The French 83PCE, which has the same hardware but superior software (its OS features an additional exact math engine), is cheaper at current EUR/USD conversion rates, but forbidden in a number of stupid standardized tests...

The eZ80 processor in the 83PCE / 84+CE hardware is 4x faster than the RAM and 8x faster than the NOR Flash memory, and could deal with 12 MB of Flash memory instead of 4 MB in the current address space layout, and/or 1 MB of RAM instead of 256 KB with a change in addressing spaces... so there's ample room for future improvement on that hardware base...
The joke is that 2018 or 2019 will bring us a 83 Extra Color Edition / 84 Super Color Edition tapping some of that evolution potential

In the TI community, we usually hold that TI's market share grew to such dominance in a number of countries because of the combination of:
* the TI-Z80 series' and TI-68k series' relative features and openness, which led me, back in 2000, to request the purchase of a TI-89 rather than e.g. a Casio "Graph 100" (French version of some fx-98* model), despite the fact that I knew how to operate the latter after using a schoolmate's Graph 100 during the previous year. HP calcs were a rarity at my high school.
* competitors' blunders, e.g. include clinging to existing calculator models and churning through minor variants thereof, not focusing on building deep ties to the education market through wide-scale T^3-style initiatives, using outrageous price tags, not making official computer versions of the software before TI did.

The Nspire series has a new set of features, e.g. full-blown documents (their implementation is horrible, but the features are quite good), but it remains a closed platform more suitable to consumers than to producers (pupils trying to go beyond what they're taught and hone their skills), sadly...