WikiReader – Wikipedia For Those Without Computers

There has been many a time where I have wished for a way of searching Wikipedia when I’m away from a computer. Although I can use a mobile phone to do just that, there are people that either cannot or should not. And the WikiReader seems to be perfect for just that situation.

wikireader

The WikiReader from Openmoko is a small monochrome unit that has 3 million articles from Wikipedia loaded onto it. Powered by 3 AAA batteries (powering it for a year), it has a touch screen for searching and checking links within articles to other items, with only 3 other face buttons including an ominous “random” one.

I have the feeling that the WikiReader would be perfect for kids in primary school. I don’t think kids in kindergarten should take laptops into school if they can help it, for fairly obvious reasons. But a cheap ($99) product like this is great.