Wikipedia in your pocket
Posted by Jon Peddie on October 28th 2009 | Discuss
Categories:
Hardware Review
Tags:
wikireader
Openmoko has announced the availability of WikiReader, a palm-sized electronic encyclopedia containing the more than three million English language articles of Wikipedia that can be accessed immediately anytime, anywhere without requiring an Internet connection. WikiReader is available for $99 at http://thewikireader.com and Amazon.com starting today.
We got to play with one briefly Saturday night and, in addition to being a real attention getter, it suddenly became the main guest—all of a sudden everyone had a question they wanted answered.
WikiReader turns on instantly and we are told will run for months before its two AAA batteries need to be replaced. The unit measures 4 inches x 4 inches by 3/8 inches thick rising to 5/8 inches. It weighs 4.9 oz. and has a 2-3/8 high x 2-3/4 wide monochrome screen with a touch interface and articles can be scrolled with a stroke of the finger and hyperlinks selected with a simple tap. Three buttons, Search, History and Random, offer the convenience of reading specific topics or the serendipitous pleasure of discovering something by chance within Wikipedia’s rich array of articles. The company says updates for the WikiReader will be provided quarterly and available for free download via their website. A yearly subscription plan for updated microSD cards is also available for $29.
“We created the WikiReader to be fun, easy, informative and entertaining for all ages,” said Openmoko CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz. “WikiReader is a whimsical look at the joy of learning in the digital age. It’s personal and it’s fun. We’re extremely excited about sharing our device with the world.”
The WikiReader was designed by Thomas Meyerhoffer, the former Apple designer known for reshaping surf culture with his radically different surfboards: “The key is keeping it simple. We really want the focus to be on the experience of reading Wikipedia, not browsing the Web. That’s why we only have three buttons. There really is no interface. You’re just straight into the content.”
For more information on WikiReader, please visit http://thewikireader.com.
What do we think?
It looks like this will be the stocking stuffer for this year’s holiday madness. It could change the course of junior high and high school—will WikiReaders be outlawed in the classroom as calculators were when they were first introduced?
