Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

People who are upset that the Kindle doesn’t do twenty seven different things are going to have a heart attack when they run into the WikiReader.

In case books are distracting you from Wikipedia

Here are the top features -

1. eInk and touchscreen.
2. Lasts a year on two AAA batteries. Rechargeable batteries work too.
3. Comes preloaded with 3 million Wikipedia topics.
4. Just $99.
5. Just 3 buttons.  
6. Scratch resistant tempered glass screen.
7. Ships worldwide.

You can get updates in two ways -

1. You can download the 4 GB file and update the WikiReader’s memory card.  
2. You can sign up for an Annual Update subscription for $29. It gives you two updates a year (on new memory cards). Basically, all the new Wikipedia topics are added.

WikiReader Software – It’s all open

The software is all open source and the WikiReader team say they will post the source code later this week.

Which should allow for all sorts of extensions. Rather interesting is that the inspiration for WikiReader came from visiting an electronic dictionary manufacturer.

The Story of how WikiReader was created is great -

1. Using AAA batteries because they’re easy to find.
2. Using a touchscreen since it makes language localization easy.
3. Low power CPU.
4. Simplistic design.
5. Removed paint ’to minimize the harmful effects on the environment’.  

Interestingly the checkout is via Amazon Checkout.

Who does WikiReader make sense for?

We’re not that far removed from when Encyclopedia Britannica (or an encyclopedia of some sort) was an essential part of every household. With the WikiReader you get Wikipedia in your hand, you can take it anywhere, you don’t need an Internet Connection, and it lasts for a year on a pair of AAA batteries.

WikiReader is pretty great for anyone who loves Wikipedia. That’s a pretty huge market and WikiReader ought to do well.

Once people start playing around with it and modding it into a unitasking device for other purposes it’ll really take off.

Filed under: eBook Reader Devices Tagged: | kindle lite, wikireader