Fiamo ECO 30 Scientific Calculator - Green

If you're buying a scientific calculator for a child to do GCSEs or equivalent, you should check to see what their school recommends. They may want all pupils to essentially use the same calculator with the same keyboard layout to aid teaching. And that calculator will usually be a Casio fx-83 or fx-85 I suspect. They cost a couple of quid more than this but are more solidly made and have better keyboards and bigger and cleverer displays that can show equations and tables. Considering how they have the market sown up, it's surprising how many alternatives there are.I bought this just for fun, because it looks good and is incredibly cheap and I'd never heard of Fiamo, which is a Czech republic company.It's not all bad. This calculator is an 'eco' model so is made from some recycled plastic. And it's anti-bacterial too, though I'm not sure how that can be or how long it lasts or anything. It has a ten-digit display plus exponent, an incredible number of functions, shows fractions naturally, and has a slide on hard case to protect it. It's quite a nice modern design too and comes in several colours.But the display is recessed heavily and this casts shadows that make it hard to see if the light's off angle. The keys have a slightly too-long travel and need a positive press to make them register. I find I make quite a few errors using it because of this. And I have calculators from 35 years ago that work better in dim light. It looks and feels very cheap when you hold it.It's a shame it's not a bit better. If you want to support a little-known brand, buy it. It does the job. It's nice enough. But if you want a really good scientific calculator, just buy a Casio. You wouldn't regret spending a tiny bit more on a Casio, but you might regret spending a tiny bit less on this.

I brought this to use in my GCSE's my teacher said it didnt have all the functions that I needed.The worst bit is that dispite being solar powered and sat in front of a window for 3 days it could not hold its charge for 2 minutes in my evening class. Useless unless you're going to use it in bright sunlight.Total waste of money. If I could have rated it 0 I would.

Bought for start of September my son went to use for second time and it has stopped working

The calculator is a little flimsy - its also not easy to use, looks completely different to other scientific calculators I have used before, seems a little plastic, sorry

Keys don't always register when you press them which is really annoying!

We ended up buying another calculator as it wouldn’t stay switched on!

Bought for my granddaughter for school. Perfect

I got this today, I have to buy another calculator, as it’s not easy to use.