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Putting Wikipedia in Your Pocketby: Scott Nesbit - November 15, 2009 |
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Like it or hate it, trust it or not, you can't deny that Wikipedia is something of a phenomenon. It houses well over 3 million articles on hundreds of topics, and those numbers are growing daily. Many, many people use Wikipedia as a source of information, and for the most part it's quite reliable. Obviously, you need to be connected to the Internet to use it. What happens when you're offline and need your hit of Wikipedia? You're not out of luck. Thanks to a company called OpenMoko, you can carry Wikipedia in your pocket. Literally. All thanks to a gadget called the WikiReader. A little bit about the device
When building the device, OpenMoko went with a compact ergonomic design and used environmentally-friendly materials (although the WikiReader Web site doesn't specify what those materials are). They even decided not to paint the device to reduce its environmental impact. Overall, you get a simple, sleek piece of electronics. But something posted on the WikiReader Twitter feed describes the device almost perfectly: WikiReader's more about exploring than navigating. [insert wikireader2.jpg] Who'd use it?
Our conclusion? It would be a good fit in elementary and secondary school classrooms. The WikiReader probably wouldn't appeal to students at universities and colleges, where more rigorous standards for research apply. It's also great for parents who are traveling with kids and/or who are homeschooling their children. For the average person, it's a useful and (fairly) up-to-date reference source that's more portable, and which has a much broader scope than a printed encyclopedia. And, as mentioned before, you don't need an Internet connection to use it. Getting hands onAfter taking the WikiReader out of its box, you need to insert a pair of AAA batteries (included) and then press the power button at the top of the device. The WikiReader starts up within a second or two. As I mentioned earlier, the WikiReader has a very compact and ergonomic design. It's very small and very light – it fits easily into palm of your hand. You can use it with one hand, and can put it in your bag or a pocket with little trouble. The screen, which measures about three and a half inches across, is very reminiscent of the kind of screen that you find on ebook readers. It's a dull green, which I've found is best used in areas where there's ample light. More on this later. Because of the size and resolution of the screen, the folks behind the WikiReader have opted to strip all graphics out of the Wikipedia articles; you're only getting text. The virtual one is provided by the WikiReader's touch screen that enables you to enter text and to navigate through articles. You when you want to search for a keyword, topic, or specific article. The WikiReader provides an on-screen keyboard that is very sensitive. As you type, the device displays results that match your search criteria. Obviously, as you type the first few letters you're going to get wildly inaccurate results. The results narrow as you type more. Don't expect, though, to type quickly. The on-screen keys are small so you'll only be able to type one letter at a time.
To scroll through an article, use your finger in the same way you'd use an iPhone or a touch screen kiosk. Flick upward to scroll down, and flick downward to scroll up. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it works. You need to watch out when scrolling near hyperlinks, though. It's easy to accidentally touch one when you don't intend to. The physical interface consists of three buttons: Search, History, and Random. The Search button takes you to the search screen that I described above. The History button takes you to a list of the articles that you've recently viewed. The Random displays an article chosen at ... well, random. And it really is random – I pressed the button several times and was presented with Wikipedia articles on Sagami Railway, Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, Pierre Kane Dufault, and Exidy. That's pretty random! The drawbacksThe WikiReader is definitely not a perfect device. There are a few drawbacks that could be make or break ones for some potential buyers. First off, the fonts. There's only one, a decent (though not spectacular) sans-serif font. Unfortunately, you can't change the size of that font. Earlier in this TechTip, I wrote that the WikiReader is best used in areas where there is good light. That's because the screen isn't backlit. As well, you can't adjust the contrast or the brightness of the screen to improve the readability.
The WikiReader costs $99 (U.S.) plus shipping. That's a bit steep for a device like this. It would definitely be more attractive at about half the price. Updates to the content in the WikiReader are made twice a year. You can purchase an annual update plan, which runs $29. OpenMoko sends you the updates on a microSD card, which is easy to replace. I've heard and read several people complain that the updates aren't frequent enough. While Wikipedia is expanding by the day, it's doubtful that most people will notice where and what has been changed or added. Then again, you don't need to pay for the updates. If you have your own microSD card, you can download an archive containing the updates and install the update yourself. To buy or not to buy?That is the question. The WikiReader is definitely not going to appeal to everyone. I can see it appealing to the groups that were mentioned earlier in this TechTip. And I wouldn't be surprised to see the WikiReader used to quiet disagreements about trivia at the kitchen table or in a pub. And what about the gadgetista? If you like your gadgets and like them useful then the WikiReader is definitely worth a look.
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The WikiReader is a hand-held device that contains 3 million plus entries from Wikipedia. The folks at OpenMoko claim to have come up with the idea for the WikiReader when they were visiting a factory that makes portable electronic dictionaries. Instead of language, they decided to focus on Wikipedia and give consumers a device that lets them use Wikipedia at their convenience, without the need for a 
As my wife and I used the WikiReader, we considered who would best take advantage of it; besides the gadget addicts, that is.
So, what happens when you find what you're looking for in the list of search results? The WikiReader has great support for hyperlinks. Tap the word or phrase with a finger. The same goes for links that you find in articles.
When you're browsing articles and press a hyperlink, there's no link to return you to the previous article. You can get around this by pressing the History button and selecting the previous article from the list. The only problem there is that if you were partway through that article you're not returned to the point at which you left.
