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In this age of smart cards, smartphones and "i" this-n-that, you might wonder what value an electronic gizmo not linked by satellite, Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, GPRS, GSM, WMD, or even a string connected to a soup can would be to a traveler. I wondered too, when I first eyed the WikiReader, which crams the entire text of Wikipedia, 3 million-plus articles, into a palm-sized device. (A journalist acquaintance came up with the ultimate pickup line to describe it: "I've got the knowledge of the world in my pants...wanna see it?")
"But I can get this on my Blackberry," I mumbled. And yes I could, as long as I was near a cell tower and not on an airplane, in a mudhut in Mali, in the park just over the hill from my house...or Canada, where I was jolted with a $700 data bill after a week's trip. And then there is the "World Wide Wait," a sighing, toe-tapping ritual we all observe every time we watch text slowly materialize in our browsers.But the WikiReader, smaller than almost any travel guide, offers instant gratification, works anywhere and anytime and has more information about our planet and the flora, fauna and objects that inhabit it than all of the travel guides in the world combined. True, you won't get maps, lodging, dining and advice but you will find an international tipping guide, accompanied by a fascinating history of baksheeh (next to a story on cow tipping). And you will find details about places and monuments and anything that anything else that sparks your curiousity not found in guide books, which are often skewed by the trappings of tourism. Did you know that there are 167 species of fungi in the Grand Canyon?
True, it has a black and white touch screen that is not back-lit, so you can't read it in low light, but that goes for a print travel guide as well. OpenMoko, it maker, says the AA batteries will last a year with 15 minutes a day of use, rather than the few hours your cellphone works before recharging. And the WikiReader doesn't show pictures. But storing the terrabytes of pictures found on Wikipedia would require a device at least the size of a refrigerator.
Because it isn't connected, the WikiPedia information may be a few months old. But the company offers free online updates. You remove the data card from the WikiReader, put it in the card slot of your computer and download the file...which is huge. For the technically-challenged or those with pokey internet connections, they will mail you a new chip twice a year for a $29. Other than that, the WikiReader costs $99 with no monthly subscription charge.
A disclaimer here: My wife Pat handles public relations for the WikiReader, so writing about it might seem a conflict of interest if I didn't disclose. But I was skeptical of the concept in the beginning and I would not have written about it had I not been convinced.
I took the picture above at Donner Summit, above Lake Tahoe, where there is no cellphone service. We read about the Donner Party there while looking forward to a civilized dinner that evening at Squaw Valley.
The WikiReader has parental controls so it is safe for kids and a button that displays random articles. Three taps on that sent me to the Irbe Strait, the main exit out of the Gulf of Riga into the Baltic Sea and stories about the flag of Dallas, Texas and a Moroccan footballer. I could waste a lot of time with this...and will.