Test Freaks has a great post today with a round-up of all of the encyclopedia apps (and mobile sites) that you can use on your phone.

Sadly, most of the best ones are mobile sites, and there are very few killer encyclopedia apps so far.  Their list includes:

• Wikipedia in mobile Safari
• A handful of Wikipedia apps
• Encyclopedia Britannica in mobile Safari
• Encarta Online in mobile Safari
• Worldbook Online in mobile Safari

Seriously, why are more of these being released as full apps?  I can appreciate the mobile versions so they can reach a wide variety of devices, but why not build an app as well?

Many choices for Encyclopedias on the iPhone is a post from: iPhone App Tips

Wikipedia is finally stepping into the App world with their own application for the iPhone.  After looking into it and seeing all it offers, it doesn’t seem that great.  The app isn’t much different than the mobile website that they offer.  It does offer a history search however, which is convenient when trying to reference an old search.   The only other benefit to having the app is direct access from your home screen instead of going to your bookmarks (if you had it bookmarked to begin with).  Over all not a very impressive app but not bad for just getting into the app scene for the iPhone.  You can check out the differences in the mobile web page and the app below.

Wikipedia’s First App is a post from: iPhone App Tips