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Texas Instruments TI-84 PLUS Silver Edition (Target)

Date of introduction:  August 2010 Display technology:  LCD dot matrix
New price:  $99.99  Display size:  8 * 16 characters
Size:  7.5" x 3.3" x 0.85"
 190 x 84 x 22 mm3
   
Weight:  7.4 ounces, 208 grams Serial No:  2756009833
Batteries:  4*AAA + SR44 (35mA) Date of manufacture:  mth 05 year 2010 (O)
AC-Adapter:   Origin of manufacture:  China (P)
Precision:  14 Integrated circuits:  ASIC: TI REF 84PLCR/TA1
 Flash: EN29LV160B
 Display: Novatek NT7564H
Memories:      
Program steps:  24k Bytes, 1.5M Bytes Flash ROM Courtesy of:  Joerg Woerner

This colorful TI-84 Plus Silver Edition was introduced for the Back-to-School 2010 campaign by retailer Target together with its siblings in silver/black resp. silver/blue. The maroon colored TI-30X IIS introduced in 2008 and the lime-green TI-30X IIS introduced already in 2005 were still available in August 2010.

This TI-84 Plus Silver Edition sold in August 2010 for $99.99 at a local Target dealer in Upstate New York, while Walmart sold the calculator for $90.00. But keep in mind: Target bundled the TI-84 Plus S.E. not only with the "Cliffs Notes: Guide to the TI-84 Plus Family" but a second faceplate in maroon and a matching additional slide case, a value of at least $11.98 in 2010!

In 2010 Texas Instruments sold on its website faceplates in 15 different colors: Black, brown, dark red, red, pink, purple, dark blue, blue, light blue, green, gold, orange, bright orange, grey and white. Except bright orange were matching slide cases available, too. One special “Data Collection” snap-on faceplate highlights the keys and functions of the Vernier EasyData™ application.

Comparing this TI-84 Plus Silver Edition manufactured in May 2010 (Revision Code O) by Inventec (Pudong) Corporation with an early product assembled in 2007 (Revision Code G) reveals only few differences. The design sports still 3 chips on one printed circuit board (PCB):

TI REF84 PLCR/TA1: Z 80 microprocessor, RAM, USB-Port 
    and supporting logic
EON EN29LV160B: 2M Bytes Flash ROM
Novatek NT7564H: Single-chip 64*120 pixel display driver

The picture on the right gives an enhanced view of the ASIC that clocks the Z80 microprocessor with 15 MHz and incorporates the RAM, USB-Port and logic. Learn more about the Hardware Architecture of TI’s Graphing Calculators.

A component not easily detected on the printed circuit board (PCB) of the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition is the driver circuit of the LC-Display. It is just a bare chip mounted on a flexible piece of circuit board attached between the display and the main PCB. 

The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition supports the ViewScreen panel and the TI-Presenter with an Presentation Link Adapter. A serial port of the calculators allows the connection to the Calculator-Based Laboratory system CBL, its successor CBL 2 and the Calculator-Based Ranger CBR. The added USB interface of the TI-84 Plus family calculators connects directly with the Calculator-Based Ranger CBR 2 introduced in 2004. With a new cradle even the optional full-sized QWERTY Keyboard introduced in 2002 matches with the TI-84 Plus series.

Texas Instruments announced on March 1st, 2010 the TI-84 Plus Operating System version 2.53MP with MathPrint™ mode for free download. The OS 2.53MP enables users to input and view math symbols and formulas, including stacked fractions, in their handhelds exactly as the equations appear in textbooks.

ROM-Versions:

2.43 (December 4, 2007)
2.53MP (February 15, 2010 includes MathPrint)
2.55MP (January 15, 2011)

You can check the ROM version of your TI-84 Plus S.E. using the following key sequence and reading the number on your screen:

[2nd] [MEM] [1]

Information provided by ticalc.org and Xavier Andréani.

Exam acceptance:

The TI-84 Plus S.E. is permitted (as of August 18, 2010) for use on SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP exams.

 

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If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.

© Joerg Woerner, August 18, 2010. No reprints without written permission.