Repository
https://github.com/kiwix/kiwix-android
Introduction
Sometimes we find ourselves in places with poor internet access or without internet access at all and we need to check urgent info on a website like Wikipedia especially when argument spike up between our families or friends.
I've been to a place where I had a poor internet connection and I needed to read books with a reference on Wikipedia, I don't like playing games but learning new stuff, while I was reading the book, I needed to check and confirm details about Albert Einstein’s biography on Wikipedia but had no internet access and I felt bitter about it. A few days after, I found this app (Kiwix) online and I was very happy about it because it solves situations of what I experienced in the past.
Another use case for this app is that sometimes we have a few percentages on our phones or we need to be offline for a moment by switching to Airplane mode at the same time, we need to check some info in Wiki but no way without internet access. Kiwix comes in handy in a situation like this because it works without an internet connection.
KIWIX lets you access free knowledge – even offline
Post Body
Kiwix is an Android and iOS app also available on different operating system (Windows, Mac, and Linux) that lets you read Wikipedia, Wikitionary, WikiVoyage, Project Gutenberg, TED talks, and other websites without internet access.
Kiwix has made the life of students with limited internet access easier since its advent. Kiwix has helped in various countries with poor or no internet access such as Cuba 🇨🇺, North Korea 🇰🇷, and Ghana 🇬🇭.
Let's work through it on our Android devices.
Download
Download Kiwix Reader from PlayStore or directly here and install it. The file size is 20.5 MB which is lesser than its workload.
How does it work?
Kiwix download supported websites in ZIM format. It uses the highly compressed ZIM format to store web pages for quick and easy reading on your phone storage. You can as well download ZIM files on a PC or other devices and save it on your storage where Kiwix can access it.
Kiwix is a lightweight app that reads large data stored in ZIM files stored on your storage drive (internal or external storage).
ZIM File Format
ZIM File Format stands for "Zeno IMproved", it's based on the old and deprecated Zeno File Format. ZIM primary goal is to store Wikipedia and other Wikipedia Projects such as Wikitionary content offline for usage. Now, other websites other than Wiki support ZIM file format.
🗞
After you've successfully downloaded and installed Kiwix for your Android device with the underlying knowledge of how it works, let's explore its UI and functions.
Launch your newly installed app (Kiwix), on the homepage, Kiwix shows you details of how Kiwix works and handles larger file sizes (HELP PAGE).
There are two Menus on the top screen, first is on the top-left corner and the other on the top-right corner which I circled yellow in the above pix.
The top-left Menu shows you tabs opened on Kiwix
The top-right Menu contains 4 sub-menu viz;
- Bookmarks 🔖
- Get Content
- Help
- Settings
Bookmarks
This page shows you your bookmark content. I use this a lot to quickly save my current reading topics.
Get Content
This is a handy feature where you view, search and download website contents Kiwix supported. On selecting the option shows you three tabs shown in the screenshot below.
DEVICE
This shows your current downloaded ZIM website content.
ONLINE
This is the page you search and download supported websites content. Click the Search 🔍 symbol to search for content in the library and the Web symbol 🌎 to see the list of supported languages.
The only function missing here is sort option; ability to sort by file size, names, website content, and dates. I hope the developer adds this feature soon.
DOWNLOADING
Shows your ongoing download for ZIM website content.
Help
This is the default homepage when you first launch Kiwix.
Settings
Needless to say. This page allows you to change and tweak default settings; There are many options but I will list a few that I use and love most.
- Switch between night mode
- Enable automated night mode
- Set tab function
- Clear History
- Set Language
- Enable zoom control
Donate💰
If you wish to support the development of this amazing app, consider donating to it here
Conclusion
I use Kiwix every day because it saves my internet bandwidth and battery. I don't need to switch on my Data to use it and browse heavy websites. Kiwix is not limited to the English language only but supports a variety of languages.
Use kiwix and I'm assuring you, you will enjoy and become addicted to it.
Great time!