Hi Jane, Jodie, and Others,

I recommend the Big Calc Free calculator app for the iPad:
• Big Calculator Free (free) by Tioga Designs, LLC
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/big-calculator-free/id374174252?mt=8

Apart from the general accessibility of the app, this iPad only calculator 
has three features that make it worthwhile, and that set it apart from the 
general run of both free and paid apps.  The best feature is that if you're 
using the memory register to calculate a running total, for example, of the 
purchases that you are making for Christmas, in the case of the original 
posted request), the "MR" button for displaying the contents of the memory 
register updates to show the current total, and this number is announced by 
VoiceOver if you touch the position of the "memory recall" button (as it is 
labeled in the default calculator app on the iPhone and iPod touch -- this 
button is in the same position). This is incredibly helpful for reviewing 
long summed totals, because you can always review the current value of the 
memory register by just touching the position of the "MR" button once 
you've started adding or subtracting to the memory register.  You don't 
ever actually have to double tap the "MR" button to recall the value of 
this register to the display, unless you specifically want to perform a 
calculation with that quantity, like figuring out the portion of the 
running total to be split among three people. If you want to check the 
running totals of amounts you enter with the "M+" button, just slide your 
finger (or flick right twice) to the "MR" button, which changes to a 
current amount as soon as the memory register contents are updated. So if 
you misplaced the decimal point of your last entry, and your memory 
register total now shows up with hundreds of dollars, all you need to do is 
flick left to the "memory subtract" button (which on this app I relabel as 
"M minus" to write out "minus" in place of the hyphen), and double tap to 
correct the error, then rekey in the correct entry.

Jane, your sighted daughter will be able to read the updated amount on the 
"MR" key position, but VoiceOver users will hear this read out when they 
touch that key.  The other two features that I like, are the presence of a 
"%" key and a simple way of calculating taxes or tips from the keyboard 
entry method, and the ability to view and/email a "paper tape" record of 
your calculations.  

The keyboard layout is similar to the default iPhone calculator app, so 
it's a simple calculator, but they add a few extra keys by making the top 
row of memory keys half -height, to add in a second half-height row of keys 
with functions "1/x", "x squared", "x cubed", and "square root x", along 
with half-width keys for pi and the "%" sign.  This makes it handy for 
calculating areas and volumes, and also percentages.  So if I want to 
calculate the total price of a $50 purchase with 4% tax, I key in "50+4%=", 
and after I double tap "%", the register shows "2", after doulbe tapping 
"=" it shows "52".

The third neat feature is a paper tape record of your calculations that you 
can email or copy to clipboard.  In portrait mode, the paper tape is a 
pop-up that you bring up by double tapping the "paper tape" button in the 
top left corner.  In landscape mode, the paper tape is a separate container 
on the left side of the screen, with the calculator keypad occupying the 
right two thirds of the screen (similar to the mail app layout).

I also like the fact that although there are ads, they are unobtrusive, and 
don't get in the way of using the app -- just the unlabeled button on the 
Paper Tape for doing an in-app purchase.  I suspect the reason this is so 
accessible is that one of the in-app purchases is a "Talking Mode", and a 
second option is additional Themes and skins.  This might be of interest to 
low vision users.

I'd relabel the buttons for "M minus", "x squared", and "x cubed", since 
the "memory subtract" button uses a hyphen instead of the word "minus", and 
the buttons for squaring and cubing amounts have separate labels for "x" 
and "2" or "3", but that's it.  There's also the VOCalc universal app by 
the developer of MBraille, which is about $3-$4, but as I mentioned, I 
really like having access to the memory register contents with the Big Calc 
Free app, and also the additional keys like "%", "x cubed", 1/x", and pi.

This app doesn't have a scientific mode in landscape view, as does the free 
app that Jodie suggested, but it also doesn't have as annoyinging placed 
ads to upgrade from the free version.

HTH. Cheers,

Esther

On Thursday, October 10, 2013 5:18:44 PM UTC-10, johoger wrote:
>
> Hi there. Sorry to create confusion. Going back to my app I realise that I 
> assumed it was the native app purely as I couldn't remember downloading it 
> however if I had of looked more closely and realised that whilst it is free 
> there is a paid upgrade, I would have realised at once my mistake. Anyway, 
> here is the link to the claculator in the App Store. You can use it fine 
> without paying the $1.99 for the upgrade.
> https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/calculator-for-ipad-free/id398129933?mt=8 
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Oct 11, 2013, at 1:53 PM, Christopher Chaltain wrote:
>
> I don't have an iPad Mini, but from following this list and using google, 
> the iPad Mini doesn't come with a calculator app. Here's an article that 
> talks about the missing apps on an iPad and some recommended alternatives 
> from the App Store 
> http://gigaom.com/2012/03/20/finding-the-ipads-7-missing-apps/
>
>

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