Casio ClassPad 300


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Casio ClassPad 300
Casio ClassPad 300 Plus

The Casio ClassPad 300 is the first (and the only apart from the Sharp EL-9650 and EL-9600c) stylus based calculator. HP worked on a pen based calculator called the HP-Xpander, as did Texas Instruments under their PET Project (see TI PLT SHH1), yet both projects were canceled before they were released to the market. The ClassPad comes with a collection of applications that support self-study, like 3D Graph, Geometry, eActivity, Spreadsheet, etc. A large 160x240 pixel LCD touch screen enables stylus-based operation.

The ClassPad 300 allows input of expressions, and displays them as they appear in a textbook. Factorization of expressions, calculation of limit values of functions, and other operations can be performed while viewing the results on a large LCD screen. The ClassPad 300 comes with graphing tools for 3D graphing and drawing of geometric figures.

The user interface of the ClassPad 300 uses a pull-down menu format. Solutions, expressions, and other items can be selected with the tap of the stylus. The ClassPad 300 also supports drag and drop, copy and paste, and other pen-based operations.

An eActivity application allows the creation of eActivities that can include figures, expressions, and explanations.

History

During 1996, CASIO worked on the CAS (Computer Algebra System) and studying Geometry. The CAS was first used in the Casio CFX-9970G then the Casio Algebra FX 2.0, and later formed the core math system for the ClassPad.

In 1999, with the help of many teachers and friends, the idea of the eActivity emerged. It would allow all applications to interact from within one application, and display information in a textbook style.

In 2000 CASIO opened a new office, the CASIO Education Technology M.R.D. Center in Portland, Oregon, USA. They hired engineers familiar with programming PCs and specialists from the education field. Ideas from around the world were now being implemented into the ClassPad by Tokyo R&D and Portland MRD Team.

In 2002 CASIO completed a prototype for the ClassPad. Before the prototype was complete, an emulator was used for testing. The emulator was so good that CASIO decided to include the emulator in the software that was being developed for data transfer. The data transfer and emulator software merged into one product called the ClassPad Manager.

In 2003 CASIO released the ClassPad 300.

In 2005 CASIO released the ClassPad 300 Plus. The 300 Plus is the same ClassPad 300, but with a new display with higher contrast. The new display is readable even in low lighting conditions. It also has more memory: 5.3MB instead of 4.5MB.

In 2006 CASIO released OS 3.0 for the ClassPad. OS 3.0 adds Laplace transforms, Fourier transforms, differential equation application, financial functions. Casio also releases OS 3.0 for the ClassPad Manager, the native PC version of the ClassPad.

In 2006 CASIO released OS 3.01 for the ClassPad, which was only available for users with OS 3.0 in their ClassPad. The OS 3.01 is free in https://edu.casio.com and Add-in Software for Ver.3.x will be available in the second half of 2007.

Picture of Casio ClassPad 300 Plus Display While Showing OS Version 3.01

In 2007 CASIO released OS 3.02 for the ClassPad. Only available for users with OS 3.00 or 3.01. It can be downloaded at the same link showing above but the Classpad must have been registered to download the updater.

In 2007 CASIO released the Classpad 330. The ClassPad 330 has exactly the same hardware as the ClassPad 300 Plus except that it has the OS 3.00 pre-installed. Some of the ClassPad 300 Plus are sold with a CD-ROM containing OS 3.00, to upgrade the pre-installed 2.20 to 3.00 and produce an equivalent of the 330.


In 2008 CASIO released OS 3.03 for the ClassPad. Only available for users with OS 3.0x. It adds different probability distribution functions as well as an extended numeric solver. There are however some issues with the OS v3.03 CAS: The Definite Integral of H(0.9 - x) where H(x) is the Heaviside step function and 0<x<1 is 0.9;
\int_{0}^{1} H(0.9 - x)\, dx = 0.9

Result of OS v3.03 : -0.9 ( Incorrect )
Result of OS v3.02 : 0.9 ( Correct )

Another example is the Inverse Laplace Transform:
\mathcal{L}(\sin(\frac{t}{c})) = \frac{\frac{1}{c}}{S^2 + \frac{1}{c^2}}

Result of OS v3.03 (Incorrect) :
\mathcal{L}^{-1}(\frac{\frac{1}{c}}{S^2 + \frac{1}{c^2}}) = {\color{Red}c^2} \sin(\frac{t}{c})

Casio has not yet released any OS update or patch to resolve these and other problems with OS v3.03 .

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