!±8± Texas Instruments TI5660 Calculator
Texas Instruments doesn't call the TI-5660 a heavy-duty office calculator for nothing. It's huge and solidly built, and it comes with enough features to satisfy practically any business user. The built-in two-color impact printer is noisy, especially when the red half of the ribbon is being used. However, it is fast, able to print 3.2 lines per second. It uses a standard paper roll instead of more expensive thermal paper, and printouts are dark and clear. We were also impressed with the 12-digit LCD display, which uses illuminated green numbers instead of the more typical black digits on a gray background. The numbers aren't as large as some we've seen on competing products, but they are perfectly legible in all lighting conditions.
The TI-5660 uses a sensible keyboard layout, but the design of the keys leaves a little to be desired. The intent was to pattern them after the keys found on a computer keyboard, with slightly concave surfaces and beveled edges, but the implementation fell somewhat shy of the mark. In practice, the keys have a lot of play, wiggling back and forth in their mounts, and they make a relatively loud, hollow sound when struck. It isn't terrible, but we've definitely seen better.
Thankfully, the device has many features that will make most users disregard its usability flaws, including seven decimal display modes, a switch to easily establish rules for rounding decimals, and a grand-total key that can display the sum of several totals. This product differs from similar TI models in that it has dedicated tax keys, which let us input a standard tax rate and then either add it to or subtract it from our figures with the press of a tax key. If you have the desktop space and can put up with the noise from the printer, the TI-5660 has enough features to make it a solid addition to any office, but in terms of keyboard quality, there are better choices. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- 12-digit illuminated display
- Dedicated tax keys
- Excellent print quality, in red and black
Cons:
- Printer is very loud
- Keys wiggle around too much
