App Review: Calculated Industries Construction App
Company: Calculated Industries
Platforms: iOS, Android, Amazon
Price: $24.99
Type: Construction, Geometry
All pictures
are taken from the app on my Amazon Kindle Fire.
Construction Master Pro Mode (4065) |
Construction Master Pro Trig Mode (4080) |
Two for Price of One
The
Construction Pro app is really two calculators in one:
* Calculated
Industries Construction Master Pro Model 4065
* Calculated
Industries Construction Master Pro Trigonometric 4080
Separately, the
tangible calculator would cost at retail, $69.95 and $79.95, respectively. On the app, you can switch calculator modes
by through the Preferences menu, or by pressing [Conv], [Store] (Prefs). A check box turns Trig mode on or off.
What are the
differences between the two calculators?
Primary the third row of keys.
Pro (4065)
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[Conv]
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Blocks
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Footing
|
Drywall
|
x^2
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Primary Key
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m
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Length
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Width
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Height
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%
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Trig (4080)
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[Conv]
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Inverse (arcsine)
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Inverse (arccosine)
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Inverse (arctangent)
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x^2
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Primary key
|
m
|
Sine
|
Cosine
|
Tangent
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%
|
On the Trig
calculator, all angles are assumed to be in degrees.
Other Tidbits
* I really like
the extended Preferences menu on the app.
Some of the choices include setting the fraction resolution (from 1/2 to
1/64), set unit preferences for area and volume, choose calculation settings
for Arched Wall and Irregular Jack Rafters, and set default settings for
headroom height, desired stair rise height, and floor thickness. The preferences are presented as a scrollable
list on the app.
* If you like
arithmetic using yards, feet, and inches, this app will do this, including
rounding all result to the nearest fraction of inch (that you set in
preferences). If find this feature very convenient
and fundamental.
* The app does
work with degrees and degrees/minutes/seconds (DMS). Pressing the period key [ . ] will allow you
to enter DMS in this format: degrees [ .
] minutes [ . ] seconds. A DMS indictor
will appear when numbers are in this format.
You can convert between decimal and DMS by pressing [Conv] [ . ]
(dms<>deg). This feature is
available in both modes.
* The calculator
has four memory registers: register M (which M+ and M- are available, press
[Rcl] [M+] to recall M), and independent registers 1, 2, and 3.
‘* The reciprocal ( [Conv] [ ÷ ] (1/x)) and pi (
[Conv] [ + ] (π)) are available. The
change sign is a shifted command (appropriately [Conv] [ - ] (+/-)).
* One of the
coolest things about the app is that if you press and hold down a key, the app
will take you to the page of its user manual.
The user manuals of Construction Industries are impressive, well
written, and detailed. At least the
Amazon version has this, but I’m pretty sure it is also available on the iOS
and Android versions as well. Even if
you don’t have a Calculated Industries calculator or app and especially if you
are considering buying one (or several), I recommend that you visit their
website at http://www.calculated.com/.
Calculations
included are:
* Roofs
(pitches and slopes)
* Stairs
* Circles (area
and circumference)
* Regular Polygons
(full angle, half angle, perimeter, radius)
* Cones (area
and volume)
* Spring Angles
* Cost Analysis
* Jack Rafters
As you can see,
the app has a lot of calculations tailored for geometry, which is really
nice. You can solve various what-if scenarios.
Final Verdict
If you want a
construction calculator and either the following apply:
* You are
budget minded
* You don’t
mind or desire to a calculator app on your phone or tablet, and you are not a
stickler for using hardware
I recommend
buying this app, you are getting two Calculated Industries calculators for the
price of one and buying the app instead of buying both calculators will save
you at least $100 (spending $24.99 versus $149.90 retail).
Also, this app
is very good.
I hope you
enjoyed my review and until next time,
Eddie
This blog is
property of Edward Shore, 2017.