Monday, July 21, 2008

Apps for iPod Touch/iPhone

Here are a few Apps you might want to check out from Apple's new App Store. To find these apps, simply type in the bolded/italicized terms in the search field and it should be the first item in the results list:
  • The aforementioned BibleXpress will soon have version 1.1 update available with many improvements in the user interface. BTW, ignore the negative reviews on the iTunes store; it basically boils down to a bunch of Christians whining that the program is too expensive. On the contrary, I believe that for the number of translations being made available (eventually), the price is very reasonable. The biggest disappointment so far is that the program is buggy, but that is apparently being rectified.
  • AcroBible is selling individual translations. So far just the ESV ($17.99) and KJV ($9.99) are available. This program makes these translations available offline. While the interface is more polished than BibleXpress' (I've only purchased the ESV and am quite pleased with it), I'd still go with BibleXpress since it will offer many more translations for only $29.99 (ESV, NASB, NRSV, ASV, and several others), and the interface is undergoing many improvements and refinements (none of whom are yet available, unfortunately). BTW, the fact that AcroBible is selling individual translations for as high as $17.99 should give some Christians a clue that it's not cheap to produce these apps, especially given licensing fees.
  • If you're interested in original language texts for the iPhone/iPod Touch, go to Olive Tree's website and fill out the questionnaire.
  • All of Shakespeare's plays are available in a free offline app. It's very buggy at the moment (scrolling works only intermittently), but it's rather cool to have the bard's works at your fingertips whenever you want.
  • There are a number of books available for purchase at $0.99 a pop, but these can all be obtained for free if you know where to look. There's a great little program called Stanza, through which you can download most if not all these 99 cent titles for free.
Finally, you should check out Rick Mansfield's post lamenting the lack of decent bible apps.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The AcroBible now offers a number of additional translations that you can download free. Currently, these include the KJV, ASV, WEB, and YLT.