» Casio FX-115ES Advanced Scientific Calculator with 2-Line Natural Textbook Display

Casio FX-115ES Advanced Scientific Calculator with 2-Line Natural Textbook Display Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Seems like a nice Calculator, but....
Comment: I haven't had time to explore this calculator, but it seems to have all the functions I need and is of decent quality-not bad for $20!
The only place I find fault is in the documentation which are multi-folded "booklets" for a User Guide and Appendix. There are no tables of contents or Index in either "manual". They are essentially worthless and difficult to read, plus fragile. Fortunately, I was able to download the PDF versions and format them to 2 pages per 8.5 x 11" sheet for printing. This makes it a little less unwieldly and easier to read, albeit, lacking in usefull information. Users are on their own after that. Apparently there are no after market books specific to this calculator that I have found.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: THE calculator for the PE Exam
Comment: I had stupidly thought that since my preferred calculator is a TI-89 that I should use the TI model for the PE Exam. Ha! I'm glad someone told me about the Casio, because it is a far superior choice. Key differences between the two that make it amazing:

A solve routine
Responsive keys
Clear display

Might I also add, for the FE takers out there, that it derives and integrates? Yeah, the TI30X is basically a cheapy free calculator in comparison.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Workhorse on the cheap...
Comment: I love using this calculator. I used it for over 5 classes now. I have abused it so often I thought it would have died by now. Each time I take it out I am amazed how well it still works. My wife has a Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator. Often she will grab my Casio because it is so much easier to use. Also being its solar means no batteries to change, ever.

If you want a great calculator for a very good price then this is the one for you!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: very good tool
Comment: i bought the calculator for my son who is in high school. he appreciates the display, the sleek appearance and speed of processing data. good job Casio!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent value - one of the best for standardized tests
Comment: Now that many, if not all, of the TI/HP graphing calculators are banned from standardized exams, scientific calculators are generally approved for use. The HP 33/35 are overpriced calculators, and the TI-30XS MultiView is too basic of a calculator. The FX-115ES includes many features like differentials, integration, matrices (albeit only up to 3x3 matrices), "pretty print" or math print (where fractions are displayed like fractions in a textbook, and has a dual power system (solar power and batteries). The instruction pamphlet is large and unwieldy. TI at least includes a "booklet", while the Casio instructions are printed on a huge foldout sheet that is easily torn or lost. The ON/OFF controls for the FX-115ES are unintuitive. To turn ON the calculator, you must press a special ON button. To turn it off, you press SHIFT + AC. I instinctively hit AC to try to turn on the calculator since my old Casio scientifics all turned on in this manner. Why did they change this? The Casio also takes getting used to for TI graphing calculator users. I've used my TI-86 and TI-89 for nearly a decade and now I am forced to get acquainted with the Casio. It's not difficult but it is almost like learning a new keyboard layout. The screen text/font is also too large. While it offers a 2-line display, it really is useless for scrolling back. I am more used to the multi-line display of a TI-86/TI-89 where you can see 3-4 previous problems at a single time. They could have tried and squeezed more lines of text, but this is just a minor inconvenience. The protective cover also requires extra care to slide into place. It is not as positive or easy to use as a TI graphing calculator cover. They should have extended the tracks instead of making a curved design.

Pros: Lot of calculator for the money. Beats out the TI-30XS for power, and beats out the HP 33/35 for value.

Cons: Unwieldy instruction foldout, quirky on/off buttons (not intuitive), slightly more difficult to get used to for the TI user.

Overall: Simply one of the top choices for modern standardized exams if graphing calculators are banned.

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