TI-30 [SEP] manufacturer
TI-30
The TI-30 was a scientific calculator manufactured by Texas Instruments, the first model of which was introduced in 1976. While the original TI-30 left production in 1983 after several design revisions, TI maintains the TI-30 designation as a branding for its low and mid-range scientific calculators.
Price.
The original TI-30 was notable for its very low cost for the time, around US$25. This was much less than the retail prices of other scientific calculators of the era; for example, Hewlett-Packard's cheapest
chips within the 3300 were so unreliable, they needed replacing every 30 minutes. In October 1969, the company raised US$4 million through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This enabled them to outsource production short term to a series of local manufacturers, including a motorcycle helmet manufacturer, before constructing their own manufacturing premises. Once in production, they began sourcing chips from both TI and Intel, running up large debts from both.
The Datapoint 3300 sold very successfully for a number of years. It was later rebadged