After Apple announced the iPhone SDK, the wheels in my head started whirling. While there are some pretty good Bible web apps for the iPhone (like the ESV, NAB and NET Bibles), a dedicated app that you could take with you anywhere would be pretty cool. As it is, anyone with a Touch outside of a wi-fi network or an iPhone somewhere that prevents a signal can’t access these apps. What if you want to read the Bible on your iPhone (or iPod Touch, but let’s just assume I mean both) on a plane? You would either have to use another reader like a laptop or, heaven forbid, actually read off of paper. Unacceptable in my mind.
So, with the SDK some enterprising programmer could make a slick Bible app, giving all of us access to a digital Bible. I’m going to go out on a limb and say there will be about a thousand such apps, many of them even being free (especially if they use the KJV). But, given the limitations of iPhone app distribution, it’s going to be awfully hard to make something that’s going to please everyone. Here are some problems I’ve come up with (but that doesn’t mean I don’t agree with the overall app distribution, because it does make sense).
Price. Ideally, what you’ll want is one app that can handle multiple translations. The problem here is is that each modern translation is going to charge the developer, which will be passed onto you; the more translations, the more money it will cost. For comparison’s sake, Accordance (Mac software) charges $30 per Bible and Olive Tree (mobile software) charges between $16 and $25 per Bible. Take Greek/Hebrew into account and you’re looking at a chunk of change. An app with one translation might be reasonable (although I’m convinced the “sweet spot” for apps will be between $8.99 and $14.99), anything more is going to get pretty expensive.
Add-ons. Is there any indication we will be able to add onto an app once we’ve downloaded it? In other words, can you buy a basic Bible app with one or two translations and then add to it over time? Or, will you have to buy one loaded app for a lot of money (see above)? I don’t really want to have ten apps, one for each translation; this will seriously harsh my workflow. But, since an ebook reader seems like a no-brainer for the iPhone, wouldn’t a Bible app be essentially the same thing?
Trials. This is going to be a small problem for all iPhone apps, not just Bible ones. Since Try Before You Buy is a Mac standard by now, it makes sense for this to make its way onto the iPhone. Suppose you’re on a website that advertises a Bible app that looks pretty shiny, but costs $30 (or whatever). If you have to pony up the cash before trying it, you might be less inclined to buy it. I’m not convinced this will be a major problem, but it could be a nuisance.
As I said, it’s going to be hard to please everyone, especially me. I have a list of requirements for an iPhone Bible app, which means I’ll probably have to write it myself. I’ll leave that post for later.
Filed under: Books, The Body of Christ | Tagged: apple, Christianity, iPhone, iPhone SDK, Religion, Technology
I was reading your post about Bible apps. on iPhone, noticing how much time and effort you put into your blog site, and thinking that you remind me of internet monk. I was going to ask if you’ve ever heard of him, when low and behold, he’s listed in your blogroll, as well as Coffee Cup Apologetics. It’s a small world afterall. (And no, I don’t think Bible apps. for iPhone will be the slightest problem. I know a guy with 8 translations on his Palm Pilot, and they interface seamlessly.)
Thanks for the comment and taking the time to stop by. Also, thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate it.
Of course, the difference between Palm and the iPhone is kind of big, but I think you’re right, there won’t be the slightest problem.
I would agree that most people would want to pay under $15 for a standard application. I think you could get more sales if the price was slightly lower. If it was $20-30 I don’t think many people would want to buy it. I know I would be willing to buy an application if it was cheap enough even if I hadn’t been able to demo it.
That’s the key, isn’t it? If it’s cheap enough, you’ll just buy it sight on scene (so to speak). This is why iTunes works so well: I’m in the mood for Andy Williams, so I hit “Buy Track” without thinking about it. If it’s at a price where I actually stop to think about it, then a demo would be helpful.
Whoa~~ that would be so awesome~
i have a bible organiser, but to have it on your phone would be awesome~~
cant wait for the 3g iphone / app store ^___^
(also cant wait for a japanese dictionary in a phone…
I think it’s highly likely that someone will offer a very cheap Bible app ($9.99) that includes a free translation like the KJV, then just sells additional translations like NASB, Amplified, NIV, etc., at similar prices that Olive Tree does for their Bible Reader on Palm and Windows Mobile, e.g., $14.99 - $24.99-ish.
Olive Tree currently makes their reader entirely free for other platforms, so it’s possible if they develop an iPhone/iPod Touch version, theirs could be close to free.
I think you’re right. Olive Tree seems the best bet right now.
Regarding your comments on the need for a good free Bible app I have been using Pocket eSword for 5 years now & find it excellent. Modern translations & resources are available at fair prices. The best aspect though & one i find rarely available is the ability to make notes on a specific verse as well as writing topic notes.
I think that thr writer Rick Meyers has used the pocket version of Access for this tool. I am totally uneducated in app writing, but could the Apple SDK be used to let eSword run on an iPhone?
It would probably have to be written from the ground up unless it was written in Objective C for the Mac (in which case it would still be hard to bring it to the iPhone). I do like eSword, though.
The database engine used for the Pocket e-Sword does not run on the iphone platform.
The database engine used for e-Sword does not run on the iphone platform.
The database engine used for e-Sword Live does not run on the iphone platform.
As such, were e-Sword to be ported to the iphone, either:
* iphone would have its own database engine, and files on it wouldn’t be available for the other versions of e-Sword;
* e-Sword would change database engines, thereby rendering it incompatible with existing resource libraries;
The other issue is the display rendering engine would have to be rewritten for the iphone.
IOW, the odds of e-Sword being available for the iphone are slim to non-existent.
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_The Sword Project_ is far more likely to have a front end for the iphone. The biggest obstacle they face, is license incompatibility.
xan
jonathon
Thanks Mike & Jonathon,
I guess I am back to praying for an HTC Diamond
Seriously, I appreciate your time in educating me. Like you say Jonathon it is v unlikely & Rick Meyers confirmed that he has no plans at present - such a shame as iPhone is a beautiful piece of equipment…
Well, there are some really good Bible iPhone apps. The YouVersion free app is good, as long as you always have a wifi or 3G/edge connection, and a few paid versions are excellent. The problem is that they aren’t going to be free because of the amount of translations they use.