As much grief as Wikipedia gets due to questionable &mdash and at times, incredibly hilarious &mdash edits by pranksters, the site can be a treasure trove of information on all sorts of subjects.
But let's say you're out and about in the wilderness with no Web access and you suddenly notice a coral snake slithering around your campsite. That's when you might say to yourself, "Self. If only I could access Wikipedia right now, I could find out if this is the type of coral snake that can actually kill me."
Which brings us to the announcement from company Openmoko about its new WikiReader portable encyclopedia. The WikiReader contains more than 3 million English-language Wikipedia articles, which users can access without an Internet connection. The device is now available on Amazon.com and the device's official site for $99.
"We created the WikiReader to be fun, easy, informative and entertaining for all ages," said Openmoko CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz, in a statement. "WikiReader is a whimsical look at the joy of learning in the digital age."
Since updating is a key part of Wikipedia, owners of of the WikiReader can get free quarterly downloads to keep their device current. You'll definitely need an Internet connection for that part, though. More on the device after I get my hands on one to review.
Photo © Openmoko
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