Mobile Ministry Magazine

Here is a (small) list of some of the places to get free (and low-cost) electronic Bibles (mobile, smartphone, laptop, and desktop):

• Laridian
• Olive Tree
• YouVersion
• Logos for iPhone
• eBible
• eSword
• Bible Explorer
• Palm Bible+
• Symbian Bible Reader (previous called S60 Bible Reader
• Mantis Bible Reader
• Rapier
• Berean Bible Study
• BibleTouch
• GoBible
• mbible.com (Online Mobile Bible)
• Touch Bible LE
• Several iPhone Bibles and Bible Widgets
• AcroBible for Android
• CadreBible
• Arabic Bible
• Best eBible (Symbian S60)

Are we missing one that you use? Add it in the comments.

Image via Palm Bible+

Labels: Android, Berean Bible Study, Bible, Bible Explorer, Bible+, iPhone, Laridian, Mantis Bible, Olivetree, Rapier, S60 Bible Reader, software, WordSearch, YouVersion

A previous post about Bible readers got me thinking again about the idea of Bible formats and the fact that content is very much unmovable from one appliation to another. In some respects, I really have won out because with my current phone, even though its not Palm OS, it can use the Bible+ Bibles formatted for that application.

Because of this, there's extra value to not only having a Bible on my device, but the content that I've collected over the years. Needless to say, I've got a ton of Bibles (and other content), and much of that I didn't want to have to reacquire for another application and publishing scheme.

And in previous posts, we've talked about this conflict with publishers needing to (rightly) control the content they make available, and the Bible software developers who make all of our Bible readers possible. I don't want to rerun too much on previous discusisons, but I do want to ask the community here a question:

How important is it to you that the electronic Bibles that you have for whatever application you are using now are compatible with another Bible application you may choose to use in the future?

This is a pretty valuable question. Some don't consider the free or low cost Bibles, but those as well as the very expensive bundles can be very tedious to move from one applicaiton to another. What are your thoughts? And is this something that we should change?

Labels: Bible, Bible+, content, reading, S60 Bible Reader, software

The E71 is getting packed up and sent back to Nokia this weekend, but before I do so, I wanted to add some notes about it that might prove helpful to some of you who are interested in this smooth mobile.

• As a device to keep you connected, there really are few that are better. Yes, the interface might feel a lot dated compared to others, but its simple and very esily gets the job done.
• I found it pretty easy to manage contacts and calendar information with the built-in applciations; though their abilities can be extended with 3rd party software.
• For a Bible reader, I use S60 Bible Reader as that one is able to use the same Bibles that I had from the Palm OS application Bible+. It not as stout in terms of bookmarking and taking notes as other apps are, but its solid in terms of just reading while in service, study, or just when sitting and enjoying the day.
• Many people ask where you can purchase it, and your only options in the US at this point are from online retailers, or Nokia flagship stores in Chicago and NYC. You would be getting the benefit of purchasing it without a contract, which over the life of the device keeps things nice and inexpensive.
• The battery life, oh such nice battery life. Only BlackBerrys are better. But you win with much better software and hardware here in my opinion.

Feel free to ask any other questions that may come to mind about the E71. As I get other devices, look for them to be shared here as well.

Labels: Bible+, BlackBerry, E71, S60 Bible Reader, smartphone

Since moving to using the N800 and N75 as my computing devices, I've had a bit of a quandary when its come to using the devices for Bible study and church. One main issue has been search. Its not so much of an issue on the N75 with the S60 Bible reader - this Bible reader is a lot like the Bible+ reader that has IMO the best user interface for searching for verses when you know the verse you are looking for in either term or address.

The problem comes when I am using the N800. There, I am usually writing notes and want to go back and forth with Rapier and Bible Gateway (yes, I use both at the same time). While I can get to many verses or notes, its cumbersome, and I have gone to the point of putting the devices down and just listening out of frustration.

I read a post about how one can look up Bible references from the web with Logos and it really hit that what I needed (in some cases) was just a better way to get the verses down do that the N800 can give me what I am looking for.

The way that Logos works, according to the post, its pretty much as simple as pointing Logos to the web page where you want to pull the verse from, and then the library shows the verses in another screen. This method really works best when you have a web page that has all the verses listed, and then the browser is open to that page, and the person is in Logos - kinda like one of those options we talked about before.

Here is a bit more detail about the process:

Libronix will quickly find all the Bible references mentioned and add them to your verse list in the order in which they appear on the web page. You can then decide how you'd like to view them. The default is to show only the references without the text. Double clicking those references will open them in your preferred Bible allowing you to read them in their contexts, compare them with other versions, or dig into your study Bibles and commentaries. If you'd like to see the text of the verses along with the references, you can select "References and Text in One Column" or "References and Text in Two Columns."

In looking at this just in the context of Bible software. It would seem that the best way to take advantage of this is have some sort of outline in some kind of container (RSS) that a program could use and then using the ability of that program to take notes, one would have all the verses they need and could just concentrate on listening to the lesson and engaging in the discussion.

Labels: Bible, Bible+, internet tablet, Logos, N800, Rapier, S60 Bible Reader, software, study