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Wikidroid for Wikipedia – Knowledge in the Palm of Your Hand

on 9/2/11 11:49 PM

Tested version: 4.1.1
Latest version: 5.0.1
Requires Android: from 2.1

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Summary

What makes an application great? I would say that if an app makes it easier (and in some cases more fun) to access a programme rather than, say, going via the browser and simply looking at the programme that way, then the app is pretty great.


The online collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia gets a tremendous amount of hits per day. In fact, it’s one of the most popular online encyclopedias out there. Wikidroid for Wikipedia promises to help you use Wikiedia when you’re on the move. Let’s find out whether the app trumps simply accessing Wikipedia via the browser.
 

Features & Use

Section rating:

First impressions: Wikidroid for Wikipedia doesn’t look like it has that much more to offer than the mobile variant of Wikipedia. What it does is display the mobile website and spices things up with a few comfort-of-use-factor-functions (more details in the next category).


Wikidroid scores as far as functionality goes: it does all the standard functions such as copy & paste, export bookmarks, change language settings as well as a few more subtle details such as mask the message notification bar.


Pages/articles can be bookmarked, but what sets Wikidroid apart is the possibility to save a free copy of the article to the SD card (meaning you can consult articles even when you aren’t connected to the internet). This may not be the best invention since sliced bread, but I have found the function to be quite useful.


…But that’s all there is to say about the different functions. I mean, the mobile version of Wikipedia provides the same functions, even saving stuff to the SD card is possible (using Read it Later). Hence, the dreaded question arises: do I need this app on my Android? The answer: granted, the app doesn’t shower you with heaps of functions and the design won’t wow you either,but the big advantage is how tidy the app can help you keep things. Things can get messy if you’ve got dozens of wiki articles bookmarked or Read it Later is overflowing with texts.


The question is whether you’re happy to install and app that affords you a nice tidy overview and not much else, because, as mentioned, Wikidroid is missing a few key functions. I would like to be able to access other wikis as well as synchronize.


Bottom line:
Wikidroid for Wikipedia is a good app, but it has a few week points. I use it because I like being able to organise my articles and access them without having to tax my connectivity. I’d like to award the app an even better score because I do regard it as one of the top three Wikipedia apps and have found it to be really useful, but I’m trying to remain objective and I do concede that not everyone cares as much about organisation as I do…
 

Screen & Controls

Section rating:

There’s not much to be said as far as controls go, except that the UI comes across as somewhat nerdy. There’s nothing pretty about it; all major functions can be accessed via the menu button.


Wikidroid for Wikipedia continues in the same minimalist vein in the design department as well. It actually looks a lot like the original website, but pinch-to-zoom or zooming via double click work like a charm.
 

Speed & Stability

Section rating:

Wikidroid for Wikipedia has been my companion for several months now and it has only crashed twice. Good performance overall.

Price/Performance Ratio

Section rating:

Wikidroid for Wikipedia can be downloaded for free from the Android Market and the AndroidPIT AppCenter. There’s a small ad banner.

 

Comparable Apps

WikiMobile (Wikipedia Browser)

Wapedia: wikis & encyclopedias

Wikipedia

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Market Comments

markd, Apr 14, 2012
Loses place on exit
madeleine, Apr 10, 2012
Useful
Dr.crezy, Apr 9, 2012
Cool
Steve-O, Apr 9, 2012
Great App Really useful for school or college
Sean, Apr 8, 2012
No menu button on taskbar of tablet I left a comment for the developer that there was no the menu option button no longer available on the honeycomb tablet and nothing was done to fix it so I'm going to go to the official wikipedia version
Michael, Apr 5, 2012
Great since Jan 20 update Latest bug fixes make this a great way to access wikipedia. Faster than using browser.
mrgreatauk, Apr 4, 2012
Annoying Shows all the articles fine, but when coming back after doing something else it forgets your position, and sometimes takes you back to a previous article.
jd, Apr 4, 2012
Slow, doesn't remember location when going back Good app, but very slow and doesn't remember location when going back. This makes it difficult to navigate through lots of articles/links.
Erik, Mar 31, 2012
WIKI... The best wikipedia!
Kevin, Mar 30, 2012
Been good. A year of use for wikipedia browsing and only found one flaw and it might not be the apps fault. When in browser and I press on a Wikipedia article, in Google search, prompt to complete task I push wiki Droid, wikidriod loads but not the article I wanted. Just startup page. If this could be fixed, it would be perfect.
中华, Mar 29, 2012
nice thanks
Shawn, Mar 29, 2012
Fallen behind... Been using it for 2.5 years but now that the official Wikipedia app has Google search bar integration I am moving on because search bar integration doesn't work very well on ICS with Wikidroid.
Mama Russia, Mar 26, 2012
Update Needs to have new people added. Not having.g shows or famous people is not good.
Jack, Mar 26, 2012
Great Better than The Original Wikipedia!
, Mar 25, 2012
Actually works! Much better than the official app
Gael D'Marte, Mar 18, 2012
Pain in the *ss Go use the browser instead, which is basically the same but the *ell of a lot more practical and it will save you time and ads.
Charon, Mar 17, 2012
My OFFICIAL wiki app Love the user friendliness of this app, as well as the fact that they don't add any little bells and whistles. They do, however, keep only the necessities making the app small but functional. Wikipedia should take notes on how its done, because this is easily the best wiki app on the market!!!
Anonymous, Mar 15, 2012
Offline reading is great. Best of wiki app. Bookmarks work fine for me.
Michael, Mar 15, 2012
Tablet version demand
Tom, Mar 10, 2012
Best Simply the best. Love that I easy can swap between two languages.
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