Openmoko / Medion Wikireader?

[Sean Moss-Pultz]

Hi Patrick

On Sat, Mar 19, 2011 at 8:20 PM, Patrick Beck <pbeck at yourse.de> wrote:
>
> when Openmoko Inc. still exists i hope we get a official statement from
> them, for the future of Openmoko Products. When i look at the Wikireader
> i have not seen any updates since months.

What would you like to hear in an official statement?

We are very focused on making WikiReader a retail success. We sent a
newsletter out in January talking about our progress:

  http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b982f5bdf55759b5b47661379&id=17f3fdc0f8

3 times a year (quarterly) we update WikiReader's content. Usually
with new languages and added Wikis (beyond just Wikipedia).

This past winter, Wikimedia's servers had serious problems and they
could not produce their XML dumps that we use. These are back up again
now... we're working on our Spring release. It will be out soon.

> It's not easy to sell original Wikireader for 109 Euro against 79.95
> Euro for the Medion Wikireader.

We (Om) sell the same 8GB version that Pulster sells for USD $99 on
our website. It ships from the USA, so if you add in the shipping
costs and VAT, you'll see that Pulster's price is very fair for
Europe.

Medion sells a 4GB version. Same with Pandigital in the USA. They can
afford to sell it for a lower margin because of the volume they move.

Believe it or not, WikiReader is expensive to build. The quality is
extremely high quality. We specifically designed it to last for a long
time on very simple AAA batteries. This required special components
that aren't commonly used in electronics these days.

Let us know if there is anything you'd like clarified. I'll do my best
to answer any questions you (or others) might have.

Sean