openmoko: wikireader

the wikireader from openmoko is a palm-­sized electronic encyclopedia containing more than three million english wikipedia articles that can be accessed without an internet connection.

‘one day, while visiting a local contract manufacturer of electronic dictionaries, inspiration struck us. instead of an electronic language dictionary, we thought, let’s use wikipedia. let’s make it an offline, uncomplicated, unconnected experience that can be used on the plane, at the beach, in those silent moments of our day. like a good book, we wanted something that could be enjoyed most everywhere.‘ sean moss-puitz, CEO, openmoko, Inc.

wikireader was designed by thomas meyerhoffer. it has a monochrome touch screen and three buttons that allow you to navigate the content which is stored on a 8GB microSD. it’s powered by two AAA batteries ‘over costly lithium-ion ones’ that should last a year. owners of the device can purchase biannual updates from openmmoko as they become available and parental controls can also be applied to the material.

wikireader is available to buy from the wikireader site for 99 USD.