Interesting article on the TI-84 and the graphing calculator market

[Steve Simpkin]

The article mentions that the TI-84 Plus has remained basically unchanged since it was introduced in 2004 while other consumer electronics have changed dramatically in the same time frame.  What they don't mention is that the TI-84 Plus you can buy new today is very similar to TI's first graphing calculator, the TI-81 introduced in 1990.  Same processor (a slower clocked version of the Z80 introduced in 1976), same display and similar layout. They increased the amount of RAM, bumped up the processor speed, added Flash memory, added USB, updated the software and reduced the manufacturing cost.  Not a lot of technology progress for 24 years even factoring in the lack of competition and fulfillment of intended purpose. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compariso...alculators