TI-80

{{short description|Handheld graphing calculator (1995–98)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox Calculator

|name = TI-80

|image = TI-80.png

|caption =

|type = Graphing calculator

| entry =D.A.L.

|manufacturer = Texas Instruments

|introduced = 1995

|discontinued = 1998

|successor = TI-73 series

|processor = Proprietary (on board a Toshiba T6M53 or T6M53A ASIC)

| frequency = 980 kHz

|memory_user = 7 KB of RAM

|display_size = 64×48 pixels, 16×8 characters

|precision = 13

|link = N/A

|prog_lang =

|supply = 2 CR2032 batteries

| weight = {{convert|106|g|oz}}

| dimensions = {{convert|6.4|x|2.8|x|0.60|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=flip}}

}}

The TI-80 is a graphing calculator introduced by Texas Instruments in 1995 to be used at a middle school level (grades 6 to 8).{{Cite web |last=Owens |first=John E. |date=October 1995 |others=Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (17th, Columbus, OH, October 21-24, 1995) |title=The Day the Calculator Changed: Visual Calculators in Prealgebra and Algebra. |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED389620 |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=ERIC |publisher=ED.gov (Institute of Education Sciences) |place=}} It offered advanced capabilities that had previously only been available in high-end scientific calculators to students learning pre-algebra and algebra, and was designed to be affordable for schools.{{Cite news |date=March 1995 |title=Products |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9503203909&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2025-05-20 |work=T.H.E. Journal |via=EBSCOhost}}

Design

The TI-80 featured a 48 x 64 dot-matrix display with a 5 x 3 pixel font, the smallest screen of any TI graphing calculator. It had the slowest processor (980 kHz) of any TI graphing calculator. The first revision of the TI-80 'A' contained a proprietary Toshiba T6M53 ASIC while subsequent revisions contained a Toshiba T6M53A. Additionally, the TI-80 had the processor on board the ASIC, unlike later calculators like the TI-83, TI-83 Plus, and TI-84 Plus which had separate ASIC and processor chips in certain models. In comparison, the TI-81, released in 1990, featured a 2 MHz Zilog Z80 processor. However, the TI-80 did feature 7 KB of RAM (compared with the TI-81's 2.4 KB). The TI-80 also had more built-in functions than the TI-81 (such as list and table functions, as well as fraction and decimal conversions). Like the TI-81, the TI-80 did not feature a link port on the base model, however, unlike the TI-81, the ViewScreen variant (meant for use with TI's overhead projection units) did. The TI-80 was the only graphing calculator to use 2 CR2032 lithium batteries (instead of the standard 4 AAA batteries with a lithium backup battery).{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Usage

Since its release, it was superseded by the superior TI-73 and TI-73 Explorer. The TI-80 was officially discontinued in 1998, when it was replaced by the TI-73, however, production continued until at least October 2000.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

As of 2021, the TI-80 remained approved for use on the SAT exam.{{Cite web |last=McCalla |first=Jeff |date=April 6, 2021 |title=Which TI Calculator for the SAT® and Why? |url=https://education.ti.com/en/bulletinboard/which-ti-calc-sat |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=BulleTIn Board Blog |publisher=Texas Instruments}}

See also

References

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