The Story of WikiReader.

Chance, and our being open to unanticipated and different kinds of change played the defining role in creating the WikiReader. 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.

Thomas Meyerhoffer, our designer, loved the concept and went straight to work on some prototypes. Within a few weeks we knew this product would be great. Wikipedia already played an important role in our lives. And when Thomas wrapped it up in a beautiful handheld form, a gravitational force radiated so strongly, that we couldn't put it down. WikiReader was born. It was clear that those of us who are excited by learning, and believe that knowledge is power, and enjoy the process of self-discovery through learning, would love WikiReader.

“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations. ”
Paul Rand

Throughout the development process William Lai, our Product Manager, focused on making Wikipedia accessible to more people in more places. Never forgetting that 75% of the world is offline, we removed all unnecessary elements to reach a low price point. We wanted to contribute, in a small but meaningful way, to Wikipedia's own goal of providing a “free encyclopedia to everyone on the planet, written in their native language”. We never saw WikiReader as a programmatic project, but rather as something intuitive and spontaneous. Making something “new” played a less important role than the “transformation” of something preexisting.

We chose the materials for WikiReader to be as socially and environmentally conscious as possible. We used a capacitive touchscreen so language localization would be easy. We chose AAA batteries (over costly lithium-ion ones) in part because they are available almost anywhere in the world. We chose one of the lowest power CPUs we could find to power Wikipedia and support open software.

We even removed paint from the manufacturing process to save costs and minimize the harmful effects on our environment. From the start, our goal has been to give physical form to Wikipedia, one of the most interesting aspects of the Internet. Now people can have it with them wherever they go. We strive to promote personal growth and the ability to enjoy those unexpected moments when curiosity strikes. WikiReader is our gift to those who have the openness to experience life and the willingness to be changed by it.

We love WikiReader and hope you do, too.

Sean Moss-Pultz
CEO
Openmoko, Inc.

The Story of WikiReader.

Thank you for inspiring us: