Mobile Ministry Magazine

There has a been a number of happenings in the area of mobile bible applications. Here are the highlights of what's come in the past week+:

OliveTree Releases Symbian S60v5 Beta and updated BlackBerry and Android applications

The folks over at OliveTree have been kicking it into high gear with mobile application updates. They've released an early beta of their OliveTree Reader for Symbian S60v5 devices (Nokia 5800XM and N97, Samsung i8910, and Sony Ericsson Saito). Testing is happening in this very public beta to get feedback before making this official. So jump in by downloading the reader and giving your feedback in the OliveTree forums.

There has also been an update to the BlackBerry and Android versions of the OliveTree application. Those too can be downloaded from the mobile-enabled download page.

Maemo 5 Bible App (Katana) Development Moving Forward

The topic of a new Bible application for Nokia's Mameo5 platform has continued with some really solid success. Already, there has been some movement by a number of developers to port the existing Rapier application to Maemo5 (testing on a live device only remains there). And then for the newer application - tentitvely named Katana - there's some work being done in a basic UI, and discussions about a plug-in approach that would enable the use of paid Bibles from folks such as OliveTree, in addition to the already planned for support for Sword and Palm Bible+ bibles.

If you'd like to learn more or join the development efforts, throw your eyes and prayers into the discussion.

Logos' Bible Software App for the iPhone

Logos has also jumped into the mobile application world with its Bible software application for the iPhone. This is a free application which allows its users to read, search, cross reference, compare versions, and even set up reading plans, all from an iPhone or iPod Touch device. As with many mobile Bible applications, this one requires a wireless connection as it connects to the Bibles featured at bible.logos.com. There's tap-and-hold functionality for viewing Hebrew/Greek, verse/text comparison, and linked cross references.

If you are looking at a Bible app to compliement your Logos library, this would probably be your best bet. For more information, visit Logos' iPhone software webpage or iTunes.

Got News?

Got news about a Bible application - new application, text, or public beta programs, shoot us a note about it so that we can help you spread the word.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, iPod Touch, Katana, Logos, Maemo, Nokia, Olivetree, Rapier, Samsung, software, sony ericsson

Just in case you've missed the posting over at Twitter, the chatter about developing an open source Bible reader for the newly announced Nokia N900 has started back up. Good comments in there, as well as some developers talking about what it would take to do so. Join the discussion, and maybe even assist in the effort.

And by the way of this discussion, if anyone knows of any open source (free or low-cost) multi-lingual dictionaries, please point out a few in the comments. There's a need for this for this Bible effort and other ministry efforts going on currently. Thanks in advance.

Labels: Bible, dictionary, Maemo, multi-lingual, N900, open source, software, twitter

Over at Talk.Maemo, I opened a discussion asking a few questions about a potential Bible application for the new N900 and other Mameo 5 devices. What I'm more interested in is creating momentum for the application than anything else, and from there, this community and others can be a point of reference for use-cases, testers, and developers who'd build something solid. Here's the questions posed at that thread:

• Is there anyone working on [developing] one? If so, I'd be up to assist in testing, UI, etc).
• If there isn't one under development, would this kind of application be useful and if so what features rank highest?
• If not a Bible application specifically, would a browser-extension that works with a Bible-based website be a suitable development target?
• What are some of the positives and negatives of Bible applications for Maemo 5 devices (pick the perspective that's relevant to you to speak towards)?

Hopefully, there can be something of some direction gained towards that effort and then developers and testers alike could move forward towards something of benefit for the Body and of highlight to the platform - can you imagine a Bible application being something that exploits the best nature of the platform and then profiled by the manufacturer? I can ;)

Add your thoughts here or the thread at Talk.Maemo.

Labels: Bible, Maemo, software, wireless application

By now you have already heard a boatload on Nokia's latest announced device, the N900. The N900 is a successor to the popular N800 and N810 Internet Tablets, but does them a few degrees better. For one, the operating system has been totally retooled and sits now on much better engineering and hardware. On the other side, you have that still open and tweakable aspect due to its Maemo Linux roots, and this endears the N900 to be the kind of device that can and should be tuned to the user's liking.

Labels: Maemo, N900, Nokia