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iPhone Bibles


Paul Raybould

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iTunes Store has many different Bible apps and a variety of translations.

 

I am wondering if anyone has had experience with any of them. I'd be interested in posts of both positive and negative comments to help me and others make the best purchasing decision.

 

Thanks in Advance and Regards, Paul

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I like Olive Tree's BibleReader app (which I used for years on Palm devices before getting an iPhone), which has many resources available to it, and is, to my knowledge, the only iPhone app with Greek and Hebrew (the latter nicely rendered, including cantillation!).

 

Here are referral links to several of their prepackaged translations and bundles on the iTunes Store: NIV, ESV, ESV Bundle, ESV Study Bible, and the NASB Bundle.

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I also appreciate the fact that if you've ever purchased a BibleReader module before (for your Palm or PocketPC) it will work on the iPhone (with one caveat.. there are many modules that haven't been reworked for the iPhone, but eventually they should all be available). Note also that you can get the free version of BibleReader on the iTunes store and then link through it to your online www.olivetree.com library.

 

I'm also pretty sure (like J.P.) that OliveTree is the only company currently producing an iPhone Bible application that has the original languages.

 

For those of you who have used Laridian's PocketBible on their Palm, PocketPC, etc., they're currently working on a product that should be available pretty soon.

 

Mark

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iTunes Store has many different Bible apps and a variety of translations.

 

I am wondering if anyone has had experience with any of them. I'd be interested in posts of both positive and negative comments to help me and others make the best purchasing decision.

 

Thanks in Advance and Regards, Paul

 

I guess it depends on what you need, for me the NRSV with Apocrypha was enough and the best "deal" and nicest interface I found was the CCEL NRSVA Bible. If you search it that way you will find it. It's $9.99 but when you look at the cost of individual texts on other Bible apps, it was an okay deal. It allows you to bookmark texts, change font size, and it remembers where you left off on your next visit. Probably as much a personal taste thing as anything, they have other translations and promise more to come. Hope that helps.

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I also appreciate the fact that if you've ever purchased a BibleReader module before (for your Palm or PocketPC) it will work on the iPhone (with one caveat.. there are many modules that haven't been reworked for the iPhone, but eventually they should all be available). Note also that you can get the free version of BibleReader on the iTunes store and then link through it to your online www.olivetree.com library.

 

I'm also pretty sure (like J.P.) that OliveTree is the only company currently producing an iPhone Bible application that has the original languages.

 

For those of you who have used Laridian's PocketBible on their Palm, PocketPC, etc., they're currently working on a product that should be available pretty soon.

 

Mark

 

There is actually a free iphone Bible app with original languages.

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  • 2 months later...

I use OliveTree and the app called Bible. They're both excellent. I really like Bible since you get a lot for free, such as the NASB. If Accordance ever comes out with something for the iPhone, I'm sure it'd be excellent. Obviously a different approach to the desktop version, but they'd make something that makes studying the Bible on the iPhone a sheer joy.

 

Thanks!

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I can also recommend BibleReader. I've been beta testing the GNT since December... some of the features they try out and have coming are very forward thinking. The feature list seems constantly in active development.

BibleReader has been with me on my Palm for over a decade, ever since I got a Gramcord text with BibleReader that came as a freebie with an Accordance purchase.

I couldn't count the number of uses that have been convenient to have my NRSV and GNT ready to go in my pocket.

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iTunes Store has many different Bible apps and a variety of translations.

 

I am wondering if anyone has had experience with any of them. I'd be interested in posts of both positive and negative comments to help me and others make the best purchasing decision.

 

Thanks in Advance and Regards, Paul

 

 

I agree with several of these guys. The OliveTree ESV Study bible and reader is great. The study bible works well and the availability of many free titles makes it worth it.

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  • 1 year later...

iTunes Store has many different Bible apps and a variety of translations.

 

I am wondering if anyone has had experience with any of them. I'd be interested in posts of both positive and negative comments to help me and others make the best purchasing decision.

 

Thanks in Advance and Regards, Paul

 

 

Hi Paul

 

I see your original post is well over a year old. I was wondering what iPhone Bible app you decided to go with? OakTree may not want us talking too much about other iPhone Bible apps these days since they are talking about releasing an iPhone/iPad app themselves here in the forceable future. But with that being said, depending on how long it may take for the Accordance for iPhone release, those that haven't invested heavily in an iDevice app may want to wait and see what Accordance comes up with. Especially if you have a lot of money invested in Accordance reference materials, and don't have to re-purchase them for the Accordance iPhone/Pad app.

 

If on the other hand you want something to get you by until that day arrives, I would lean more to recommending Laridian's PocketBible depending on it's intended use. It's a free app from iTunes but comes with the KJV. You have to purchase other translations. The one thing that Loridian has right now that no other iDevice app has is the ability to sync your notes, bookmarks, highlights, and daily devotional reading progress between all of your devices, in-house. You can also backup your data to their server and restore it to your multiple devices if needed. PocketBible also has some great search tools that will search all of your purchased resources at once. Some people don't care for the user interface, but once you get use to it and realize how much you can do with the app, the UI becomes much appreciated.

 

I also use Olive Tree which has more eye candy if you will. It has a "prettier" interface and is somewhat more intuitive than PocketBible but not as functional. Both apps work well on the iPad and once installed you don't need wifi or an internet connection to access your Bibles, Books and other reference materials. I use Olive Tree more for times when I just want to "read" the Bible and don't want to see a lot of additional clutter such as highlights and notes. If I happen to share my iPad with someone at Church, I most likely will fire up Olive Tree before handing the iPad over to them since it's a little more intuitive and requires less instruction on its use. Although Olive Tree does provide a backup feature for your notes via Evernote, it doesn't sync and or backup your highlights and bookmarks. Therefore I tend use PocketBible more for a mobile study Bible where I can feel confident to spend the time to enter notes, highlights and bookmark sync I can easily sync them between devices.

 

But again, you don't have to invest a lot of money in either application if you just want something to use until OakTree comes out with their Accordance app especially if you have a lot already invested in Accordance.

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I think there is even more of a reason for OakTree to release an iPhone app with the release of the iPad ...would actually be an iPhone/iPad app at this point.

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