Standalone Calculators Still Exist! And, TI's Nspire Seems Controversial

With all the computing tools available today, I often forget that there is still a place for a more-or-less dedicated calculator device. However, they are often mandatory in middle and high school math classes these days. I remember going in search for a good price for the TI-83 when my daughter started middle school. But, in the effort to compete with general purpose computing devices as well as mobile devices like the iPod touch, calculator designers are trying to step up their game.