They are absolutely lazy monopolists in my view. They are still selling the TI-83, a device released in 1996, for $112 at major retailers.

TI's newer calculators actually use the eZ80, which is pipelined and generally much faster than the similarly-clocked Z80 processors in the older devices.

I don't see the TI-series graphing calculators as a general purpose computing device. If I need more horsepower than an old Z80 for some specific use case, TI actually has me covered, in the 68k-powered TI-89 and the ARM-powered TI nSpire.

What _is_ inexcusable to me is that the calculator still costs as much as it does. I'd bet the bill of materials for a TI-84 is cheaper than that of a Raspberry Pi at this point. A few years ago I had to take apart my -83 and discovered from references online that there were revisions A through at least K of the hardware, with many cost cutting measures made along the way. And while there's something to be said for the supply chain for a 20+ year old device probably having dried up several times over, none of those cost savings seem to have been passed onto the consumer.

Do they have any competition? Those chips are probably effectively free for them. R&D isn't.

Technically, yes, there's competition from Casio and HP.

However, all US textbooks contain examples specifically for TI calculators, all teachers get TI calculators for free and thus they don't recommend getting anything else but a TI calc.

Casio makes very popular and we'll supported graphics calculators.

Casio made the first graphing calculator.

I got one, so great. Statistical Student's T at the lab bench for advanced freshman chemistry. In 1987.

Agreed. Casio got me through my beginning of undergrad with a wonderful calculator. TI always seemed liked too little for the money.

iirc Casio's offerings aren't any cheaper.

My school requires the TI