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Difflugia · 05-26-2014, 04:44 PM

With my recent influx of Amazon Coins (tl;dr--buy these five free apps from Amazon and receive 1000 Coins; buy this game for 699 coins, get another 2000; total 2301 Coins) and a Memorial Day weekend with no plans, I decided to try out a few Bible apps for Android. My main goal was finding something that makes it easy to read study Bibles. There's a wide selection of study Bibles available as epub or mobi, but reading study notes alongside the Bible text is pretty much impossible. There is a pretty good selection of Android apps that have a split screen setup with both screens synced (so when I navigate one screen to Exodus 3:10, for example, the other screen moves there automatically).

Other than that, my criteria are:

It must work offline
A good selection of Bible translations and other resources
Bibles need to be available with a paragraph view instead of each verse starting a new line
Reasonably-priced Bibles (or the ability to somehow use the resources that I'd already bought in other electronic formats, but that's a long shot).
A robust backup solution
Easy to use (a big problem for most ebook Bibles is that footnotes are difficult to get to with a touchscreen)
The ability to uninstall the Amazon Appstore and have the Bible app continue working (this is a personal paranoia thing that probably doesn't apply to most healthy people ).

I use a 7-inch tablet (NOOK HD with CM 10.1), so bear that in mind if you use a different form factor.

Tecarta Bible App

None of the apps that I tried had everything that I wanted. That said, my favorite is probably the Tecarta Bible app, so I'll talk about that one first. The big win for me is that they're integrated with the Appstore so that new Bibles can be bought with Amazon Coins and you even get 30% back from the in-app purchases in Coins. Also, the NIV Study Bible is (temporarily?) only $1.99 (or 199 Coins) if bought in-app (the named app is $19.99), which gives you the full NIV Bible and the study notes from the NIV Study Bible (I mention this specifically because some of the other apps require buying a Bible and study notes separately). The other Bibles are reasonably priced, as well, most being $4.99 or $5.99 (so you can get a pretty good selection with your free Coins). Most study Bibles are $14.99.

One downside for me is that most of the features (split screen, panel for footnotes) are designed to be used in landscape mode and I prefer portrait mode. It's not a real big deal, but a little annoying. The other is that all of the backup options are online. Most of the apps have this problem, though. Amazon claims that in-app purchases are available to other devices on the same account, but I haven't tried reinstalling through the in-app purchases, yet. Tecarta also allows you to create an account with them (you need a working email address) that you can sync your purchases to. I purchased Bibles using both the named apps in the store (NASB Bible, for example) and in-app purchases. I was able to sync both types to my Tecarta account.

If you buy one of the paid apps from the Appstore, the app requires the license check to run, so you couldn't uninstall the Appstore. After syncing to Tecarta, though, I was able to re-download my purchases after installing the free KJV app. The Tecarta website is a little sparse and unprofessional-looking, though, so I'm a little concerned about the longevity of the company and thus my ability to redownload Bibles in the future.

The Tecarta app has a reasonable selection of Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Bibles, but nothing Catholic (RSV, NRSV or NAB), nothing in Greek or Hebrew and only the KJV from the public domain (no ASV, Darby, YLT, etc.).

The interface is somewhat unintuitive to start, but Tecarta has online help videos explaining the different features. After having watched them, I have no difficulties. Long-tapping on a footnote superscript brings up the footnote text. Even with a small font, it's easier to hit the footnote than in reader apps with ebooks, but I still occasionally have to try a few times to hit it.

Logos Bible App

If cost were no object, Logos would be my hands-down favorite. The app is free and a few resources are available for free while online, but anything available offline has to be paid for, including public domain resources. It's also not integrated with either Play or the Appstore, so you need a separate account with the Logos website to buy and download resources. The company's been around for a long time, though, and I still have resources available that I bought on CD fifteen years ago (the software was named Libronix for a while, so if you still have the installers for your software and sync to an account, the resources will be available online and in the Android app). Unfortunately, the resources are more expensive than any other electronic sources. That said, Logos has an amazing selection and includes a wide range of doctrinal views. If there's something esoteric that you want, odds are good that they've got it. Any purchased resources are also available for use with the desktop app and online with a web interface. Additionally, Logos offers a free book each month (there's a mailing list signup on the website), so it may be worth installing just for those.

The app is relatively easy to use and figure out, but they seem to still be tweaking the Android interface as it seems to change slightly with each update. Footnote superscripts need to be tapped, but the app seems to be pretty forgiving about exact tapping location and isn't too frustrating for me.

Aside from being crazy expensive, my only real complaint (which applies to the desktop as well as Android app) is that the startup screen is packed with as many ads for Logos things as will fit.

Olive Tree Bible Study

Olive Tree Bible Study is sort of in between Tecarta and Logos. Olive Tree resources are slightly less expensive than Logos, but more expensive than Tecarta. The same pattern holds with availability as well; Olive Tree has many more Bibles and books available than Tecarta, but nowhere near the vast Logos library. They seem to be dabbling in the app markets as well, having a few resources that can be bought preinstalled with the app (ESV, NKJV, NIV at Amazon, a few more at Google Play). As far as I can tell, though, these can't be synced with the Olive Tree server, so any reinstall has to be done through the corresponding app market and the resource isn't available for use with the desktop app. Once installed, though, the resource is available to the free version of the app, so the Appstore can later be uninstalled.

The main selling point for Olive Tree over Logos is that Olive Tree has a respectable number of free (mostly public domain) resources available that can be used offline. You need to create an account with Olive Tree to download them, but you don't need to enter a credit card or any payment information. Olive Tree's also been around a lot longer than Tecarta and was recently acquired by HarperCollins, so I'm less concerned about the company disappearing (not unconcerned, just less concerned). Olive Tree also offers free books occasionally, so it might be worth installing (or at least creating an account) to get those.

I found the Olive Tree app interface to be a little difficult to get used to, but not too bad. Tapping footnote superscripts is a little more touchy than with Logos, but once you get it, there's a scrollable window with all footnotes that lets you check several at once.

AcroBible

AcroBible Study Bible is similar in concept to the Tecarta Bible software, but inferior in execution. It allows purchasing Bibles in-app through the Appstore or Google Play and prices are similar, but it has a smaller selection. The interface is easy to use, but verses aren't divided by paragraph (instead of one verse per line, they're all displayed end-to-end, like one big paragraph). I couldn't see any reason to choose this one as long as Tecarta is still in business.

CadreBible

CadreBible is only available at Google Play and requires an account at their website to purchase resources. The application is fine, but there's really nothing to recommend it over any of the others. There's no desktop application, the prices are comparable to Olive Tree, but the available library isn't much bigger than Tecarta's. There are a few interesting resources (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, for example), but not enough to compete with either Logos or Olive Tree or justify higher prices than Tecarta.

I'll pass.

PocketBible

Laridian's PocketBible is in just about the same boat as CadreBible. The app is easy to use and has a few free resources available, but prices aren't especially low and you need an account at Laridian's website to download or purchase resources. Unlike CadreBible, there is a desktop application and they also have applications for a pretty large selection of mobile platforms (Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Palm). My main reason for selecting this one would be if had previously bought Laridian resources for other platforms like I had for Logos (I didn't) or if I currently used multiple devices that Laridian supports (I don't).

Free and Open Source Apps

The next few are all free and (with one exception) open source. The libraries are more limited, but more free resources are available than for Logos or Olive Tree and if you have the motiviation and technical ability, you can roll your own.

And Bible

And Bible (Google Amazon) is currently my favorite open source Bible app. It's based on the JSword library (a Java implementation of the C++ Sword project) and uses a standard module format that's been in active development for a number of years, so there are lots of resources available (especially many non-English languages with inadequate support from other apps). Since the format is non-proprietary and described rather adequately online, I originally had fantasies of converting my epubs to Sword modules and using them with this software. I got a few done, but the process is tedious and sideloading to And Bible involves ADB and isn't straightforward. I've since decided that spending another few dollars to get my Bibles in another format isn't quite as offensive as I first thought.

There really is a huge number of modules available. Most of it's public domain, but the ESV and HCSB are both available for free. There are a few modules available for purchase (there's a password process for installing them; I haven't bought any, so I'm unsure of the details), but most non-free publishers have been uncooperative.

I like the interface. It rivals both Logos and Olive Tree in usability and I prefer And Bible's method of reading footnotes (move the verse to the top of the screen and long-press; I don't have to hit a specific spot in the text). Most of the flaws are in the JSword library itself. Most notably, paragraphs aren't indented and different methods of numbering verses are poorly supported (so Protestant Bibles are fine, but Catholic Bibles and translations of the Septuagint tend to have problems). Commentaries also don't show quite as well as they do in the other software packages as you only see the commentary for one verse at a time instead of as a scrollable view.

There are some problems (that hopefully will be addressed in future development), but this is the app to start with if you want to go completely free (in the senses of both "free speech" and "free beer").

BibleTime Mini

BibleTime Mini is only available at Google Play. It's also based on the Sword Project, so it has access to the same set of resources as And Bible (unfortunately, they store downloaded resources independently, so if you have both, you have to download your resources twice). BibleTime Mini is somewhat more polished than And Bible and is based on the C++ library, which tends to lead the Java library in development. The downside for me is that Bibles are shown with each verse on its own line without having a paragraph option, so if that doesn't bother you, BibleTime Mini is certainly worth a look.

QuickBible/Alkitab

Quick Bible is the a version of the Indonesian language Alkitab that defaults to English and the KJV. Neither is available at Amazon.

The interface is much simpler than And Bible, but so is the Bible format. The author has several public domain Bibles available on his Google Drive that are accessble from within the application, but also has instructions on his blog for creating your own Bible modules. Quick Bible doesn't do paragraphs, but it's certainly the easiest and most straightforward to use. It's also designed specifically to use as few resources as possible, so it will work on old devices with obsolete versions of Android.

MySword

I only mention MySword because it always comes up in searches for free Bible apps, but the whole thing seems kind of shady. It uses modules from (though isn't affiliated with, as far as I know) the desktop e-Sword software (which is free, but not open-source). The reason I say it's shady is because it's described as "free", but there's a "premium" version. The "premium" version is also described as "free", but is only available to those that make a donation to their "ministry" (their website doesn't say how much you need to "donate" anymore, but it used to be $50). One of the "premium" features is paragraph display for Bibles.

No thank you.

Single Translation Apps

There are a few apps that are just a single Bible translation, but some of them are reasonably well done and free. These are the free ones that have interesting translations (free KJV apps are figuratively a dime a dozen) and the publisher is likely to have legally received authorization to publish the translation (there are stacks of shady NIV apps that probably violate Zondervan's copyright).

Crossway's ESV App

Available at Google and Amazon, this app is only the ESV, but it's reasonably well done. Verse lookup is easy, paragraphs are displayed, there's a search, footnotes aren't difficult to tap and you can change the font size. One downside is that it has no light-on-dark night mode (I think all of the other apps I've described have a night mode).

Parable Bible Apps

Parable (a Christian bookstore) has two free Bible apps available, one with the NKJV (Google, Amazon) and the Catholic edition of the RSV (Google, Amazon). These apps are actually rebranded from FutureSoft and they're available in several other forms, but Parable's are the only ones that don't try to get you to buy something else (several sell Bible audio and one tries to sell a Catholic study Bible). The interface isn't as nicely done as other apps that I've listed and neither does paragraphs, but the NKJV and RSV-ce are difficult to find for free (and the RSV-ce is difficult to find at all).

05-26-2014, 04:44 PM	#1
Difflugia Testate Amoeba Posts: 3,049 Karma: 27300000 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Many Android devices, Kindle 2, Toshiba e755 PocketPC	Android Bible Apps With my recent influx of Amazon Coins (tl;dr--buy these five free apps from Amazon and receive 1000 Coins; buy this game for 699 coins, get another 2000; total 2301 Coins) and a Memorial Day weekend with no plans, I decided to try out a few Bible apps for Android. My main goal was finding something that makes it easy to read study Bibles. There's a wide selection of study Bibles available as epub or mobi, but reading study notes alongside the Bible text is pretty much impossible. There is a pretty good selection of Android apps that have a split screen setup with both screens synced (so when I navigate one screen to Exodus 3:10, for example, the other screen moves there automatically). Other than that, my criteria are: It must work offline A good selection of Bible translations and other resources Bibles need to be available with a paragraph view instead of each verse starting a new line Reasonably-priced Bibles (or the ability to somehow use the resources that I'd already bought in other electronic formats, but that's a long shot). A robust backup solution Easy to use (a big problem for most ebook Bibles is that footnotes are difficult to get to with a touchscreen) The ability to uninstall the Amazon Appstore and have the Bible app continue working (this is a personal paranoia thing that probably doesn't apply to most healthy people ). I use a 7-inch tablet (NOOK HD with CM 10.1), so bear that in mind if you use a different form factor. Tecarta Bible App None of the apps that I tried had everything that I wanted. That said, my favorite is probably the Tecarta Bible app, so I'll talk about that one first. The big win for me is that they're integrated with the Appstore so that new Bibles can be bought with Amazon Coins and you even get 30% back from the in-app purchases in Coins. Also, the NIV Study Bible is (temporarily?) only $1.99 (or 199 Coins) if bought in-app (the named app is $19.99), which gives you the full NIV Bible and the study notes from the NIV Study Bible (I mention this specifically because some of the other apps require buying a Bible and study notes separately). The other Bibles are reasonably priced, as well, most being $4.99 or $5.99 (so you can get a pretty good selection with your free Coins). Most study Bibles are $14.99. One downside for me is that most of the features (split screen, panel for footnotes) are designed to be used in landscape mode and I prefer portrait mode. It's not a real big deal, but a little annoying. The other is that all of the backup options are online. Most of the apps have this problem, though. Amazon claims that in-app purchases are available to other devices on the same account, but I haven't tried reinstalling through the in-app purchases, yet. Tecarta also allows you to create an account with them (you need a working email address) that you can sync your purchases to. I purchased Bibles using both the named apps in the store (NASB Bible, for example) and in-app purchases. I was able to sync both types to my Tecarta account. If you buy one of the paid apps from the Appstore, the app requires the license check to run, so you couldn't uninstall the Appstore. After syncing to Tecarta, though, I was able to re-download my purchases after installing the free KJV app. The Tecarta website is a little sparse and unprofessional-looking, though, so I'm a little concerned about the longevity of the company and thus my ability to redownload Bibles in the future. The Tecarta app has a reasonable selection of Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Bibles, but nothing Catholic (RSV, NRSV or NAB), nothing in Greek or Hebrew and only the KJV from the public domain (no ASV, Darby, YLT, etc.). The interface is somewhat unintuitive to start, but Tecarta has online help videos explaining the different features. After having watched them, I have no difficulties. Long-tapping on a footnote superscript brings up the footnote text. Even with a small font, it's easier to hit the footnote than in reader apps with ebooks, but I still occasionally have to try a few times to hit it. Logos Bible App If cost were no object, Logos would be my hands-down favorite. The app is free and a few resources are available for free while online, but anything available offline has to be paid for, including public domain resources. It's also not integrated with either Play or the Appstore, so you need a separate account with the Logos website to buy and download resources. The company's been around for a long time, though, and I still have resources available that I bought on CD fifteen years ago (the software was named Libronix for a while, so if you still have the installers for your software and sync to an account, the resources will be available online and in the Android app). Unfortunately, the resources are more expensive than any other electronic sources. That said, Logos has an amazing selection and includes a wide range of doctrinal views. If there's something esoteric that you want, odds are good that they've got it. Any purchased resources are also available for use with the desktop app and online with a web interface. Additionally, Logos offers a free book each month (there's a mailing list signup on the website), so it may be worth installing just for those. The app is relatively easy to use and figure out, but they seem to still be tweaking the Android interface as it seems to change slightly with each update. Footnote superscripts need to be tapped, but the app seems to be pretty forgiving about exact tapping location and isn't too frustrating for me. Aside from being crazy expensive, my only real complaint (which applies to the desktop as well as Android app) is that the startup screen is packed with as many ads for Logos things as will fit. Olive Tree Bible Study Olive Tree Bible Study is sort of in between Tecarta and Logos. Olive Tree resources are slightly less expensive than Logos, but more expensive than Tecarta. The same pattern holds with availability as well; Olive Tree has many more Bibles and books available than Tecarta, but nowhere near the vast Logos library. They seem to be dabbling in the app markets as well, having a few resources that can be bought preinstalled with the app (ESV, NKJV, NIV at Amazon, a few more at Google Play). As far as I can tell, though, these can't be synced with the Olive Tree server, so any reinstall has to be done through the corresponding app market and the resource isn't available for use with the desktop app. Once installed, though, the resource is available to the free version of the app, so the Appstore can later be uninstalled. The main selling point for Olive Tree over Logos is that Olive Tree has a respectable number of free (mostly public domain) resources available that can be used offline. You need to create an account with Olive Tree to download them, but you don't need to enter a credit card or any payment information. Olive Tree's also been around a lot longer than Tecarta and was recently acquired by HarperCollins, so I'm less concerned about the company disappearing (not unconcerned, just less concerned). Olive Tree also offers free books occasionally, so it might be worth installing (or at least creating an account) to get those. I found the Olive Tree app interface to be a little difficult to get used to, but not too bad. Tapping footnote superscripts is a little more touchy than with Logos, but once you get it, there's a scrollable window with all footnotes that lets you check several at once. AcroBible AcroBible Study Bible is similar in concept to the Tecarta Bible software, but inferior in execution. It allows purchasing Bibles in-app through the Appstore or Google Play and prices are similar, but it has a smaller selection. The interface is easy to use, but verses aren't divided by paragraph (instead of one verse per line, they're all displayed end-to-end, like one big paragraph). I couldn't see any reason to choose this one as long as Tecarta is still in business. CadreBible CadreBible is only available at Google Play and requires an account at their website to purchase resources. The application is fine, but there's really nothing to recommend it over any of the others. There's no desktop application, the prices are comparable to Olive Tree, but the available library isn't much bigger than Tecarta's. There are a few interesting resources (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, for example), but not enough to compete with either Logos or Olive Tree or justify higher prices than Tecarta. I'll pass. PocketBible Laridian's PocketBible is in just about the same boat as CadreBible. The app is easy to use and has a few free resources available, but prices aren't especially low and you need an account at Laridian's website to download or purchase resources. Unlike CadreBible, there is a desktop application and they also have applications for a pretty large selection of mobile platforms (Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Palm). My main reason for selecting this one would be if had previously bought Laridian resources for other platforms like I had for Logos (I didn't) or if I currently used multiple devices that Laridian supports (I don't). Free and Open Source Apps The next few are all free and (with one exception) open source. The libraries are more limited, but more free resources are available than for Logos or Olive Tree and if you have the motiviation and technical ability, you can roll your own. And Bible And Bible (Google Amazon) is currently my favorite open source Bible app. It's based on the JSword library (a Java implementation of the C++ Sword project) and uses a standard module format that's been in active development for a number of years, so there are lots of resources available (especially many non-English languages with inadequate support from other apps). Since the format is non-proprietary and described rather adequately online, I originally had fantasies of converting my epubs to Sword modules and using them with this software. I got a few done, but the process is tedious and sideloading to And Bible involves ADB and isn't straightforward. I've since decided that spending another few dollars to get my Bibles in another format isn't quite as offensive as I first thought. There really is a huge number of modules available. Most of it's public domain, but the ESV and HCSB are both available for free. There are a few modules available for purchase (there's a password process for installing them; I haven't bought any, so I'm unsure of the details), but most non-free publishers have been uncooperative. I like the interface. It rivals both Logos and Olive Tree in usability and I prefer And Bible's method of reading footnotes (move the verse to the top of the screen and long-press; I don't have to hit a specific spot in the text). Most of the flaws are in the JSword library itself. Most notably, paragraphs aren't indented and different methods of numbering verses are poorly supported (so Protestant Bibles are fine, but Catholic Bibles and translations of the Septuagint tend to have problems). Commentaries also don't show quite as well as they do in the other software packages as you only see the commentary for one verse at a time instead of as a scrollable view. There are some problems (that hopefully will be addressed in future development), but this is the app to start with if you want to go completely free (in the senses of both "free speech" and "free beer"). BibleTime Mini BibleTime Mini is only available at Google Play. It's also based on the Sword Project, so it has access to the same set of resources as And Bible (unfortunately, they store downloaded resources independently, so if you have both, you have to download your resources twice). BibleTime Mini is somewhat more polished than And Bible and is based on the C++ library, which tends to lead the Java library in development. The downside for me is that Bibles are shown with each verse on its own line without having a paragraph option, so if that doesn't bother you, BibleTime Mini is certainly worth a look. QuickBible/Alkitab Quick Bible is the a version of the Indonesian language Alkitab that defaults to English and the KJV. Neither is available at Amazon. The interface is much simpler than And Bible, but so is the Bible format. The author has several public domain Bibles available on his Google Drive that are accessble from within the application, but also has instructions on his blog for creating your own Bible modules. Quick Bible doesn't do paragraphs, but it's certainly the easiest and most straightforward to use. It's also designed specifically to use as few resources as possible, so it will work on old devices with obsolete versions of Android. MySword I only mention MySword because it always comes up in searches for free Bible apps, but the whole thing seems kind of shady. It uses modules from (though isn't affiliated with, as far as I know) the desktop e-Sword software (which is free, but not open-source). The reason I say it's shady is because it's described as "free", but there's a "premium" version. The "premium" version is also described as "free", but is only available to those that make a donation to their "ministry" (their website doesn't say how much you need to "donate" anymore, but it used to be $50). One of the "premium" features is paragraph display for Bibles. No thank you. Single Translation Apps There are a few apps that are just a single Bible translation, but some of them are reasonably well done and free. These are the free ones that have interesting translations (free KJV apps are figuratively a dime a dozen) and the publisher is likely to have legally received authorization to publish the translation (there are stacks of shady NIV apps that probably violate Zondervan's copyright). Crossway's ESV App Available at Google and Amazon, this app is only the ESV, but it's reasonably well done. Verse lookup is easy, paragraphs are displayed, there's a search, footnotes aren't difficult to tap and you can change the font size. One downside is that it has no light-on-dark night mode (I think all of the other apps I've described have a night mode). Parable Bible Apps Parable (a Christian bookstore) has two free Bible apps available, one with the NKJV (Google, Amazon) and the Catholic edition of the RSV (Google, Amazon). These apps are actually rebranded from FutureSoft and they're available in several other forms, but Parable's are the only ones that don't try to get you to buy something else (several sell Bible audio and one tries to sell a Catholic study Bible). The interface isn't as nicely done as other apps that I've listed and neither does paragraphs, but the NKJV and RSV-ce are difficult to find for free (and the RSV-ce is difficult to find at all). Last edited by Difflugia; 05-26-2014 at 04:49 PM.