The Quest For The Perfect iPad Calculator
From time to time, I find myself wanting to do some quick math on my iPad. I am not an aero-space engineer, architect, or a nuclear physicist. So I don’t need complexity. I want a clean and functional designed calculator that allows me to get my numeric solution fast. After looking in The App Store for awhile, I found many digital recreations of desktop and handheld calculators. These skeuomorphic calculators work just like their real world counterparts: push the appropriate combination of buttons (on the iPad’s screen) to get an answer. All in all, these calculator representations are workable, some are over-complex for my needs, and most are boring. I might as well use the calculator on my smart phone. When I saw the MyScript Calculator, I knew I had found iPad Calculator Nirvana (and it is FREE too!!!)
The MyScript Calculator
A calculator could not be much simpler than this to use. When the program opens, you are presented with a clean sheet of what looks like gridded paper (yes, it is still skeuomorphic, but barely). To use the MyScript Calculator, use your finger or stylus, and write the numbers and operators on the screen, just like you would on paper. See the example below:
Almost instantaneously, your manual input is converted to text, and as you see below, you are presented with the solution (Note: The 3 “dots” on the far right of the page behind the solution indicate there are more numbers available to view, but I limited the decimal places to only 3, and it “rounded” to this number):
When you are ready to perform another function, or want to start over again, just push the “trash can” icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the page. If you make a mistake while inputting, “scratch” through it, and continue on. That’s it: clean, fast, simple.
MyScript Calculator Supported Operators
- Basic operations: +, -, x, ÷, +/‒, 1/x
- Misc. Operations: %, √, x!, |x|
- Powers/Exponentials: ℯx, xy , x2
- Brackets: ( )
- Trigonometry: cos, sin, tan
- Inverse trigonometry: acos, asin, atan
- Logarithms: ln , log
- Constants: π, ℯ, phi.
Summary
The MyScript Calculator is an amazing piece of software in its own right, – not to mention the fact that it is a simple and fast calculator. It works on IOS6 iPhones, iPads, and Minis. All this, and FREE too. It’s available on The App Store. For Droid users, check it out on The Play Store.