Here at JAMM headquarters we’ve been tossing around some ideas on how to enhance the content of our site for you, our loyal readers.  Heather had the terrific idea of starting a series that spotlights unique, quality programs that are available in the JAMM Store.  We’re going to call this series “From the JAMM Store”.  The first installment is going to focus on a new, rather exciting program that I’ve been trying out on my HTC Hermes.  Grab yourself a glass of iced tea, relax and read on.

WikiPock Plus for Windows Mobile Professional is a new application in the JAMM Store, developed by WikiPock.  WikiPock Plus promises to deliver on a quite massive (literally) accomplishment, to bring the full text content of the Wikipedia to your Windows Mobile  (Phone) device.  The program allows you to search and read articles from Wikipedia directly on your device, with absolutely no need for an internet connection.

WikiPock has accomplished this by providing you with a small lightweight application that provides a search interface for Wikipedia database files that have been compiled for you.  While the actual application can be downloaded directly from the JAMM Store, you will need to download the database files from WikiPock’s website.  When you complete the registration of WikiPock, you will be emailed information on how to access these files.  Up front, I do want to let you know that the database files are quite large.  Huge, actually!  The 2009 database files, compiled in March of 2009 and containing over 2.8 million articles, weighs in at nearly 5 GB.  The 2008 database files, from March of 2008, still comes in at 4 GB.  You will need to download one of these files to your computer.  I’d recommend using a reliable high speed internect connection.  With my very good high speed cable connection, the download took nearly 2 hours to complete!  Once you do have the databases downloaded to your computer and unpacked, you can copy them to phone’s microSD card.  You will definitely need an 8 GB card at minimum if you are planning to store ANY additional data on it.

When I first started WikiPock, I was pleased to see the program load quite quickly.  The program scanned for the database files and found them in just a few seconds, something that I wasn’t expecting.  I was then prompted to select the database I wanted to use.

To start using WikiPock, you simply search for the article that you want to view.  At the top of the display, you will see a search field to enter your string in.  As you enter characters, you will see potential choices displayed in the area below.  At any point, you can tap on one of the listed choices to open the article for viewing.  The article opens in a separate viewer window, displaying the full text of the article, formatted complete with embedded links to other articles.  As noted above, only the text of the article is included.  No pictures are included, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to see the size of the databases if they were!  Selecting any of the links automatically jumps to the referenced article, just as if you were using Wikipedia in a desktop browser.  The handling of this was very quick!  After recently receiving a gift composed on the metal tungsten, I decided to learn a bit more about it.  You can see the quality of the information and formatting of the article in the screenshot below.

WikiPock Plus also includes free databases for Wikiquote and Wiktionary.  Wikiquote, a compilation of quotes extracted from the Wikipedia body, weighs in at 47 MB.  You can search the database based on the author of the quote.  As you can see from the screenshot below, I searched for Greek philosopher Plato.  When viewing the article, you are presented with a long, scrolling list of quotes taken from Wikipedia.

Wiktionary, a very thorough dictionary and thesaurus, checks in at 115 MB.  When viewing the entry for a selected word, you will find that the information provided is comprehensive, including parts of speech, the full definition, the origin of the word, etc.  Below you can see a screenshot of my search for the word “Tungsten”.

Overall, I found WikiPock Plus to be an excellent addition to my Windows Mobile phone.  If, like me, you find yourself constantly wanting to find out more about, well, almost anything, you should definitely check out WikiPock.  With over 2.8 million articles to search, you’re bound to find out what you are looking for!

Details:

• WikiPock Plus is available in the JAMM Store here.
• A free trial is available.
• The full version can be registered for $14.99.
• A basic version, which does not include free updates to the databases, is available for $9.99 here.
• A Secure Digital or microSD card is a requirement for this program, due to the sheer size of the databases.
• WikiPock also has versions available for Windows Mobile Smartphone and Blackberry.

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