Novelty calculators are generally terrible, especially novelty calculators ordered on Ebay for about a dollar from China. I have yet to find myself happy with a single purchase of this type, but as a calculator collector and reviewer, I have to let the people know about them. The calculator reviewed today is no exception. It's terrible.
Clip Calculator with Magnet 2606.
The Clip Calculator with Magnet 2606 (I'm just going to call it the 2606 from now on) is a calculator, a magnet, and a clip, but is only decent at being one of those things.
The magnet is incredibly weak, probably only strong enough to support the device on a refrigerator. I suppose you could hang a sheet of paper or two with it, but you likely have other, much better magnets already.
The clip is strong. It'll hold a bag of chips shut. That's the one positive thing I have to say about this device.
Here's a picture of the calculator not working.
And finally, the calculator doesn't work. The battery is probably dead, but I only ever turned this device on once, shortly after it arrived in the mail. To get to the battery, I had to disassemble everything and that's when I found out I didn't have a battery that would fit in it. That was disappointing.
When the calculator did work, for my brief test upon receiving it, I felt nothing. I had in my hand a calculator that could keep a bag of chips closed. The buttons were too small to use comfortably, and the LCD screen was utterly unremarkable. It could do the things a simple calculator is supposed to do, and nothing more.
So that's my review of the 2606. Don't buy one.
Strong clip spring.
Clip spring removed to access internal components.
Happy Friday! Today is another Facebook review day, and since my reviews there got better, it means less work for me! I mean, I still did the work, but I don't have to do it now, and present me is happy about that.
Once again, the context of this Facebook review has been lost a bit, but I'm going to leave it as it was.
Radio Shack EC-21.
Eventually, I knew I was going to have to repeat companies with these reviews. I wanted to put it off for as long as possible, but then I realized if I kept doing that, I'd just be reviewing the same three companies' calculators for weeks. So this is my first repeat company, but I made sure to pick something interesting to distract from that.
The appropriately named Radio Shack EC-21 is more than just a calculator. If you've already looked at the images, this build up is pointless, but if you haven't, then you'll be stunned when you learn that this is also a gaming machine! The EC-21 not only handles basic calculations, but can also play rounds of Blackjack.
Fancy leather cover.
Before I get into the game play of the Blackjack, I want to give credit to the construction of this calculator. It feels like a solid block of aluminum- sturdy, but lightweight. The buttons are clicky and responsive, and don't have that remote-control squishy feel most calculators tend to have.
To play, simply slide the left slider to GAME and 0 will begin blinking. It's asking you to place a bet. You can bet however much you want, so I like to pretend I'm rich and bet $5. Press the bet button, and you'll be dealt cards represented by a single digit. It plays like any electronic game of Blackjack, but can be a nice distraction from a long day of math homework.
The one flaw that I didn't notice until I spent a few minutes with regular calculator use is the positioning of the equals button. Most calculators place this in the bottom right, but for some reason Radio Shack put it at the top, and not even in the right-most position. I found myself pressing the ( ) button, which is useless for most basic operations, and I had to clear the screen to try again.
The EC-21 was built in 1978 and runs on three AAA batteries. It comes with a nice leather case that also houses the manual. Nothing about it is complicated enough to warrant the need for the manual, but it's a nice touch. With its brushed aluminum exterior, It's a beautiful calculator, even without the case. I found it at Goodwill for probably $3.
I am constantly on the lookout for interesting calculators. Every time I think I've got a solid variety of devices, I end up discovering a whole new genre that I can't help but explore. Having built and programmed an instrument myself, I'm especially interested in musical calculators. It's a lot more vague of a term than you might think, but today's review is a good example of such a device.
Toysmith Rock On! Drumkit Calculator.
The Toysmith Rock On! Drumkit Calculator can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and play a sick drum solo. But most importantly, it can annoy everyone in a room.
Featuring "10 realistic drum sound effects," the numbers one through nine and the equals button have their own sounds. Equals is a base drum, 1-3 are cylindrical drums, 4-6 are snares, and 7-9 are cymbals. For some reason, zero and other operational buttons do not play sounds. Toysmith really wanted to restrict themselves to ten sounds and only ten sounds.
If you aren't interested in banging on the drums all day, a switch on the left side sets the device to calculator mode and no sounds are playing. This leaves you with the most bare-bones calculator I have in my collection. I've seen calculators given away for free with more functionality than this. The earliest electronic calculators have more features than the Drum Calculator. Only the most basic math functions can be performed with this thing, and given its size, you'd be better off with pretty much anything else.
This isn't to say that it's a bad calculator though. It's made of a thick, durable plastic and has a nice weight to it. Buttons feel good to press, the display is large with a nice contrast, and the color scheme is reminiscent of 1970s calculators with a metallic spin to it. I really like the giant equals button at the bottom and wish more calculators would feature it so prominently.
Look at how many functions it doesn't have.
It's a great looking device, but is it also a great sounding device?
No audio outputs other than the speaker.
Not really. The speaker is large for a calculator, but the sound it produces is fairly low quality. This is probably why they just went with drum sound effects, because anything else would likely sound bad. There is also no other means of output, so you couldn't connect this to a midi setup and create something cool.
The Drum Calculator is little more than an amusing gimmick calculator. It's constructed with quality materials and fits nicely in a calculator display, but it's not something I would want to take with me when I leave home. Still, I like having it.
If hearing drum sounds while you perform basic math operations is something you need in your life, you can buy a new one on Amazon for under $7.
