"POLY Wikipedia" Presents The Past With Visions Of The Future
May 11, 2011
POLY Wikipedia, the second app in CedeSoft's "POLY" series, is an encyclopedic, early-90s vision of the future.
No doubt inspired by Star Trek's famed LCARS operating system, the angular design and bold colors of this Wikipedia browser make it a unique addition to any iPad-toting science fiction enthusiast's "Reference" folder. Proper LCARS apps don't seem to have much luck on Apple's platform, anyway.
As a bona fide Sci-Fi fanatic myself (Golden Era only, please), I'm kind of delighted by POLY Wikipedia's presentation. The custom keyboard is especially nice, though somewhat smaller than Apple's standard module; and the sound effects that accompany every piece of data entry are a nice touch.
For a first version, the app holds lots of promise. Right now, it doesn't support pictures or non-specific search terms, which is a bit of a bummer considering Wikipedia's robust handling of both, but I assume these issues will be addressed in due time.
Whether or not the app will challenge the likes of Wikipanion Plus or Discover is a non-issue. It won't. However, with the addition of queued articles, an offline mode, and a few new sound packs or color scheme options, I'd see no reason not to use it as often as those aforementioned others.
POLY Wikipedia is iPad-only and available now for $1.99 in the App Store.
