{"id":354057,"date":"2010-02-23T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-23T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.androidguys.com\/?p=13605"},"modified":"2010-02-23T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-23T20:00:00","slug":"app-review-wikipock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/354057","title":{"rendered":"App Review: WikiPock"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>While browsing through the AndroidGuys accessory store<\/a> I came across an app that quickly grabbed my attention.\u00a0 WikiPock <\/a>takes the massiveness of the Wikipedia online database and shrinks it down to 4GB so that it easily fits on a standard memory card.\u00a0 The idea of having the entire Wikipedia on my hip and accessible at any time sounded pretty sweet so I placed my order.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of it\u2019s size this isn\u2019t an app that you\u2019ll be able to download over the air, even if you have access to a Wi-Fi hotspot or 3G network.\u00a0 I had to download the database to my PC\u2019s hard drive, then over to my SD card.\u00a0 For some odd reason I wasn\u2019t able to unzip my downloaded file, and considering the download process moved at a snail\u2019s pace I wasn\u2019t exactly pleased.\u00a0 However, WikiPock\u2019s tech support<\/a> answered my emails within minutes and everything was straightened out in a few simple steps.<\/p>\n

Once I installed the app to my phone I was ready to start looking things up.\u00a0 The interface is very simple, only showing a search bar at the top of the screen.\u00a0 Pressing menu while on the home screen reveals a few more options.\u00a0 Among them was an option for a random page display, that when pressed takes you to, well a random page in the database.\u00a0 The only problem is that it sometimes yields results that can\u2019t be clicked or expanded upon, showing you only the title of the random search.<\/p>\n

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When you type in your query the app auto populates possible matches which makes searching easier even if you don\u2019t know the correct spelling.\u00a0 If you\u2019re using a handset that only has a soft keyboard you may be annoyed by the fact that if there\u2019s more than two matches the rest will be hidden by the keyboard, but this was hardly a major issue.\u00a0 Simply click on one of the results and the entry is displayed.\u00a0 The first thing you\u2019ll notice is a lack of any photographs.\u00a0 With only 4GB to work with something had to go, and pictures were the obvious choice.\u00a0 I also noticed a formatting problem with the stats and dates section. It isn\u2019t as neatly displayed as the other text in the entries.\u00a0 While I was able to find the information I was looking for, that section would definitely benefit from some tweaking.\u00a0 Within each subject entry you also had the option to go to the \u201cweb definition\u201d which takes you to the online Wiki database.<\/p>\n

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While a little rough around the edges WikiPock is an app that I\u2019m glad I stumbled upon.\u00a0 I\u2019ve used it on more than one occasion while my friends were still waiting for their pokey EDGE or 3G connections (T-Mobile) to pull up the online Wikipedia.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t have the multi-media features of the online version, but everything else \u201cWiki\u201d has been crammed into this neat little app.<\/p>\n

This app was tested using<\/strong>:\u00a0 Motorola Cliq on T-Mobile\u2019s Network
\nPresentation<\/strong>:\u00a0 Nothing fancy here, but it gets the job done.\u00a0 Easy navigation, and very fast search queries once the database loads initially.
\nValue<\/strong>:\u00a0 I found this app to be a great value at $14.99.\u00a0 Sure, theoretically you always have access to the full online version, but if your data connection is ever compromised this is a great alternative to have in your back pocket.
\nStability\/Resources<\/strong>:\u00a0 After I initially installed WikiPock it crashed a few times, but after I restarted my system it\u2019s been fine since then.\u00a0 Other than the 4GB of space it doesn\u2019t really consume many resources because you\u2019re only dealing with text.
\nBottom Line<\/strong>:\u00a0 While I won\u2019t call WikiPock a \u201cmust have\u201d application, I\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed using it, and because it is stored directly on my phone I\u2019ve found myself using it more than Google to look up historical facts and figures.\u00a0 I highly recommend it for anyone that wants their Wiki information fast and without all the fluff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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