Want to find out the origins of Halloween or when Samuel Pepys was born while walking round the park with your inquisitive six year old but don’t have an internet connection? Then the WikiReader might just be worth checking out.

A palm-sized electronic encyclopaedia designed for all ages, it contains more than three million English language entries from Wikipedia that can be immediately accessed any time, anywhere without an internet connection. Developed by Openmoko WikiReader turns on instantly and will work for months on two AAA batteries.

The large monochrome screen uses a touch interface, articles are scrolled with a stroke of the finger and hyperlinks selected with a simple tap. Updates for the WikiReader are provided quarterly and available for free download via their website. A yearly subscription plan for updated microSD cards is also available for $29.

“We created the WikiReader to be fun, easy, informative and entertaining for all ages,” said Openmoko CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz. “WikiReader is a whimsical look at the joy of learning in the digital age. It’s personal and it’s fun. We’re extremely excited about sharing our device with the world.”

Costing $99 the WikiReader is available from Amazon.com starting today.

For more information on WikiReader visit http://thewikireader.com.