The 'X' in all current TI-30 models refers to the addition of a 10+2 display (that is, a 10 digit plus a 2-digit ) in 1993 with the addition of a 2-line display and a in the XIIS/XIIB in 1999, the TI-30 line split in 2, with the TI-30Xa becoming TI's overall entry-level scientific, and the enhanced XII designs offering more input flexibility to the user. The calculator itself remained functionally similar over several redesigns in the following few years, with solar power coming to the line in 1982 in a joint venture with.

In 1980, Texas Instruments converted the TI-30 to use a, releasing the TI-30 LCD in Europe and the TI-30 II a year later in the U.S. For $24.95, the purchaser received both the calculator and a 224-page book, The Great International Math on Keys Book, which covered basics in algebra, business and finance, trigonometry, probability and statistics, physics and chemistry, and had ideas for games and puzzles that could be played with the calculator. The TI-30 was at one point the most popular scientific calculator for and use in the United States. The '0' had to be pressed on the keyboard the calculator produced a correct answer if the '0' was the result of a previous calculation. On these early models, pressing '0 INV TAN' would cause the calculator to go into an infinite loop until it was powered off with the OFF button. 1976) contained a logic error in their calculation of inverse tangents. Although the pioneered algebraic notation with precedence and in 1974, the TI-30 made those features available at a more affordable price.

The TI-30 could perform nearly all the and functions of an HP-21, its primary competition at the time. ĭisplay digits of the original TI-30 The original TI-30, a cost-reduced but functionally equivalent version of TI's unit, utilized an display, was powered by a, and contained nearly all of its functionality in one chip, where previous calculators used many discrete components. Although the in the US was 24.95 at introduction, it is rumored that the original TI-30 got its name from a planned retail price of US$29.95 or $30.

The TI-30 sold an estimated 15 million units during its lifespan from 1976–1983. The TI-30 sold for less than the cost of a professional grade. The Casio FX-20, another popular scientific calculator, sold for roughly double the price of the TI-30.

This was much less than the retail prices of other scientific calculators of the era for example, 's cheapest scientific calculator at the time was still well over $100.

Price The original TI-30 was notable for its very low cost for the time, around US$25.

Ti 30x iis calculator manual