WikiReader
Encyclopedia
WikiReader is a project to deliver an offline, text-only version of Wikipedia
on a mobile device. The project is sponsored by Openmoko
and its source code has been released.
The project debuted an offline portable reader for Wikipedia in October 2009, retailing for US$99. Updated article snapshots on microSD card will be delivered by mail semi-annually for $29/year; the updates will also be available as free downloads on WikiReader's website. The first download is now available on the website along with the first card available for purchase. Unlike Wikipedia itself, the device features parental controls for protection of children "from adult-oriented content."
The device can also run programs written in Forth; a simple calculator
program is included.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
on a mobile device. The project is sponsored by Openmoko
Openmoko
Openmoko is a project to create a family of open source mobile phones, including the hardware specification and the operating system. The project was sponsored by Openmoko Inc....
and its source code has been released.
The project debuted an offline portable reader for Wikipedia in October 2009, retailing for US$99. Updated article snapshots on microSD card will be delivered by mail semi-annually for $29/year; the updates will also be available as free downloads on WikiReader's website. The first download is now available on the website along with the first card available for purchase. Unlike Wikipedia itself, the device features parental controls for protection of children "from adult-oriented content."
The device can also run programs written in Forth; a simple calculator
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
program is included.
Specifications
- Display: Scratch-resistant glass 3.5" reflective monochrome Liquid Crystal DisplayLiquid crystal displayA liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
(LCD) (2.375" x 2.75", 6.0 x 7.0 cm.), 240 x 208 pixels. - Interface: Capacitive touchscreenTouchscreenA touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
, on-screen keyboard. Four hardware keys. - CPU: Epson S1C33 E07 microcontrollerMicrocontrollerA microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a typically small amount of RAM...
with 8KB+2KB internal memory - Firmware: 64 KB Flash memoryFlash memoryFlash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
- Memory: 32MB SDRAM
- Storage: Removable microSD card (SD and SDHC supported, 512MB, 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB sizes supported)
- File formats supported: native format; a converter from MediaWikiMediaWikiMediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
's XML export format is available. - Dimensions: 3.9 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches (10 x 10 x 2 cm.) (H*W*D)
- Weight: 4.5 oz (130g)
- Languages: English
- Warranty: 90 days
- Power: 2 AAA batteries
- Battery life: 90 hours; equivalent to 1 year of normal use according to manufacturer
- The International, 8GB version carries a US$99 pricetag and is available from both Amazon and Openmoko’s store, while the retailer BJ’s as the 4GB, English version for only US$69 as a back-to-school special.
- Retail Cost: ~US$69 to US$100
Limitations
- Text-only display: The WikiReader is strictly a "text only" display device. The device therefore does not store or display any Wikipedia images.
- Tables: The WikiReader does not display article text which appears inside a table on the Wikipedia Website (see Wikipedia:Tables).
- HTML "special characters": Certain Wikipedia article text encoded using HTML special characters is stripped from the WikiReader's output.
- Mathematical formulas: Original versions of the WikiReader do not display Wikipedia article information encoded as a formulaFormulaIn mathematics, a formula is an entity constructed using the symbols and formation rules of a given logical language....
using LaTeXLaTeXLaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
(see Math markup). This has been addressed with an optional firmware update, which is pre-loaded on newer WikiReaders. - Treatment of missing information: The WikiReader does not provide any indication of gaps where information has been deleted from a Wikipedia article. Images, tables, mathematical formulas and other information that was not encoded strictly as plain text in the original Wikipedia article is silently deleted from the WikiReader's output.
- Search: The Wikireader's search capabilities are basic. There is no full text searchFull text searchIn text retrieval, full text search refers to techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection in a full text database...
capability. Only the titles of Wikipedia articles can be searched. The WikiReader does support incremental search of article titles, beginning with the first characters of each title. Search terms must be spelled correctly. WildcardWildcard character-Telecommunication:In telecommunications, a wildcard character is a character that may be substituted for any of a defined subset of all possible characters....
searching is not supported.