Hidden FunctionalityĪpart from the button layout as a whole, I have very specific problems with the buttons that the company did chose to include. I am not sure why those two functions were included on the same split button. Those two operations don’t have an easily identifiable relationship. But on the one above that there is = and a menu for trig functions. For example, on some of the split buttons there is multiplication and division, addition and subtraction, open parentheses and close parentheses, but on one there is ^ and x^2…okay…I guess that makes some sense. The second issue that I have with the buttons is that there is not always a consistent relationship between the operations that each side does. I do not just mean that they could feel better to press, I mean that they are not always clear which side of the button registered if one side did at all. The first issue I have is that these split buttons are unsatisfying to press. I am not sure why they decided to use that design but I believe that it fell short in several ways. The signifiers do not work if they do not communicate a clear point to the user.Īnother strange quirk of the button design is that Texas Instruments decided to use split buttons. I may mean something to somebody that knows more about math than I do, but to me and my friends, it was puzzling. On the TI-nspire there are many examples of unclear signifiers but I am going to call attention to the one that looks like “☐”. It is much less helpful when the signifier just doesn’t make sense. These signifiers are often helpful when the symbols are recognizable such is the case with addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (x), or division (÷). The buttons have written out or iconic signifiers to help the user discern what each button accomplishes. Lastly, I’d like to point out that the buttons are much larger and much easier to read because the larger size allows for larger signifiers on the buttons.
Additionally, the act of pressing the button is much more satisfying which makes the entire experience more pleasurable. That shape helps make the buttons discoverable as their purpose is to be pressed inwards. If you look at the shape of the buttons on this calculator, you can see that they are concave inward to fit to the shape of a finger. My friend’s calculator made by the same company with differently shaped buttons
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