Britannica Encyclopedia hits Android Market, gets shown off at CES

By Andrew Melnizek
last updated

Paragon Software Group and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. have teamed up to bring Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 to Android. If you've picked up a encyclopedia in the past 300 years, you've probably used one of Britannica's HUGE books. The company is no stranger to knowledge.

Now, instead of lugging around that monster of a volume, you can access all the same great information on the go. The app is a free download, but requires $19.99 activation charge. Sure, 20 bones may seem like a lot of money for an app, but if you consider the wealth of information given to you all within a little-bitty app, it's rather cheap.

The app is also being shown off at this week's CES, in Las Vegas. For a full list of features and the full press release, make the jump over the break. 

Paragon Software Group and Encyclopaedia Britannica Deliver a Portable World of Information to Android and BlackBerry Users with Newly Launched Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011

With content from one of the world’s most trusted encyclopedias, the concise version of Encyclopaedia Britannica includes over 25,000 entries accompanied by full-color images and will be available to demo at the 2011 International CES

01.04.2011– LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Paragon Software Group, a leading software developer for mobile devices and desktop computers, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., a leading educational publisher, announce the release of Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 for Android and BlackBerry devices. Previously available as a 2010 version for iOS devices, the new 2011 concise version of one of the world’s most trusted encyclopedias includes the latest content with nearly 2,700 full-color maps and images, hyperlinked articles, and easy-to-use search functions, empowering a diverse class of mobile users with a world of knowledge available locally to their mobile devices. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 for Android and BlackBerry will be available for one-on-one demos at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held Jan. 6-9, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011, one of the most reliable sources of smartphone-accessible reference information, requires no Internet access and minimal device memory space. Prepared by the editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 delivers over 25,000 thoroughly researched and fact-checked entries covering art, history, geography, politics, technology, science, sports, pop culture and other subjects that come to life with thousands of colorful images and maps. Whether searching for information on how Las Vegas was founded or when Elvis Presley first crooned “Heartbreak Hotel,”Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 is the perfect information resource for home, school and the office. 

Features:

• No internet connection required – information accessible anywhere, anytime

• Over 25,000 unique articles

• 2,700 colorful images and maps

• ‘On this Day’ feature highlights what happened on any calendar day in history

• Browser-like user interface

• Share articles with friends via e-mail

• View hyperlinks between articles

• Receive random articles by shaking your device (BlackBerry users, this feature is available only on BlackBerry Storm devices)

• Instant access to all your Favorite articles

• Suggested Searches appear at startup screen

• Search History for last 50 articles

• Highlighted search results

Availability: 

The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 for Android is available for 19.95 USD via download from the Android Market. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 for BlackBerry is available for 19.99 USD via download from BlackBerry App World.Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 for all available platforms is also available via download from http://www.penreader.com and Paragon’s mobile site,http://penreader.mobi.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2011 for iOS devices is expected to be available at the iTunes App Store in early 2011.

Spanish-language (Enciclopedia Compacta Britannica 2011) and Russian-language (Britannica энциклопедия 2011) versions are also available.

Compatibility: Android OS 1.0 and higher; BlackBerry OS 4.2 and higher for non-touch screen devices, BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher for Storm devices

About Encyclopaedia Britannica

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. is a leader in education publishing whose products can be found in many media, from the Internet to wireless devices to books. A pioneer in electronic publishing since the early 1980s, the company markets a variety of encyclopedias and other reference works, curriculum products for schools, language-study courses and other learning products, many of which are available online at http://www.britannicastore.com/. The company makes its headquarters in Chicago. 

All products, service and company names mentioned in the release are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

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Andrew Melnizek
Andrew Melnizek
13 Comments
  • You mean to tell me that encyclopedias are still around? :) I honestly don't think I have had any type of research that required an encyclopedia since the mid-90's. It doesn't make much sense to me to pay $20 for an encyclopedia app that uses an internet connection when you can get anything the encyclopedia will tell you over the internet without the app.
  • Isn't this what Google is for?
  • Nothing inspires my commitment to knowledge more than a source which needs me to "shake my device" in order to work. Oh iPhone, is this really how a future without buttons should look like?
  • Just to be clear the first item on the features list states "No internet connection required – information accessible anywhere, anytime", so just how large is the app?
  • Wow! You are right, I didn't see that. It must he a HUGE app!
  • Not sure if I'm desperately needing to look something up without an internet connection often enough to pay $20 for this.
  • UM I thought this was what was replaced by Wiki
  • i am of the opinion that the $20 is reasonable, especially when you consider that it doesn't require a connection and -this is the big one-- you don't have to search and search for an articles that is legit enough to use as a reference. The $20 would pay for itself in no time right there for just about any student.
  • I donated $10 to Wikipedia instead :) (Not saying that having a "real" and un-tethered encyclopedia isn't a good thing to have, however. Love how there is no mention at all as to how big the "app" is.)
  • I donated to wiki too 20$ is too much for an app IMHO, based on the amount of potential buyer they should price their app more reasonably but this is usual with paragon stuff. Their total download is 110MB, so it's not a bad product but priced like this I doubt their target audience ie: student will be able to afford it... I personally use a free wiki front end and google... at 5$ I would had jumped on it...
  • an ecyclopedia not needing an internet connection would probably be the size of your entire app memory.
  • just wanted to share this with u guys. went to the market. found the Britannica app, there are 2 versions ones $20, the other is free. both are the 2011 series. I'm downloading the free one now. and for those of u asking about file size, the app is 1.7 MB, however then you have to download the actual reference material, that my friends is 113mb. not sure if that's the same with the paid version. I will post back after I peruse through the free version
  • $20 dollars is too much for...an Encyclopedia? Come on guys.