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TI SR-10
The Texas Instruments SR-10 was the first calculator that utilized scientific notation and algebraic entry. It seems pretty basic today, but this calculator paved the way for modern graphing calculators. -
TI SR-11
The big addition to TI's next line of calculators introduced a dedicated Pi button which led to its prevalence among those wnating to perform trigonometric operations. -
Casio fx-7000G
The Casio fx-7000G is widely considered to be the first true "graphing" calculator. The decade prior to its release saw many innovations in processing power and memory for pocket calculators which allowed for the fx-7000G's ability to complete multiple function evaluations for complex input variables; processes necessary for the plotting of functions. The fx-7000G also introduced the dot-matrix display needed for demonstrating graphical plots. The fx-7000G also allowed for programmable input. -
HP-28C/S
The Hewlett Packard HP-28C and the slightly updated HP-28S were an advancement over the Casio models because they allowed for algebraic solutions of functions and were capable of handling named variables. They also expanded on the programmable aspects by providing expanded memory and an alpha-numeric keyboard. -
HP-48
Four years after the release of the HP-28 series, Hewlett Packard began marketing the HP-48 series which offered even more memory and the added benefit of an external data port for sending computation results directly to a computer. This model really began closing the gap between handheld calculators and personal computers. -
TI-84 Plus/Casio 9860
The TI-84 Plus provided two big innovations in the field of graphing calculators. As users began to find new ways to exploit the programmable capabilities of graphing calculators, storage became a big issue. The TI-84 allowed for expandable USB external storage. The other big advancement to the TI-84 (also found in the Casio 9860 released a year later) was the prettyprinted expressions that allowed users to see expressions represented as they would be on paper as opposed to the single line text. -
TI Nspire Series
With the release of the TI Nspire calculator, Texas Instruments released the first graphing calculator with a color display. While this advancement may seem trivial, it allowed for graphs of multiple functions to be displayed usefully. The Nspire also offered several advancements in the way of programming and interpretting data. The biggest advancement in this arena was the ability to actually collect data using the lab cradle attachment.
