Zondervan Stops Running Into Brick Wall, Joins Logos

I've never understood why Zondervan tried to keep electronic versions of its titles in house by producing its own software. It certainly couldn't have made any financial sense, and definitely didn't serve their customers.

Well, they've finally seen reason and gone into partnership with Logos Bible Software. This means, of course, that Pradis is kaput. Nice job, Zondervan. You've managed to produce your very own vaporware.

A few months ago, I seriously considered purchasing the Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. It's certainly not the ideal Hebrew dictionary (that would be the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament) but given the dearth of what's available in electronic format, and it's cheap price ($69.95) I thought long and hard about it.

In the end, having this one title on a third bible software platform didn't make sense. I have both BibleWorks and Logos, but the two complement each other in important ways (BibleWorks for primary exegesis, Logos for its wide range of secondary titles and reference works). Pradis would essentially end up representing expensive bloatware.

In Zondervan's defense, however, I should note that they've promised discounts to people who are current users of Pradis. We'll just have to see how deep those discounts are. Hopefully they are deep enough that users of Pradis don't end up getting hosed from a financial standpoint.

Upon perusing the initial offerings, there isn't much that interests me at this point, but I may eventually spring for the aforementioned Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. However, the suggested retail price has jumped from $129.99 (Pradis) to $199.99 (Logos).

Making matters worse, it is/was often possible to get Pradis products at good sale prices (e.g., $69.95 at Rejoice Software noted above). The Logos price, however, represents the pre-pub price, which strangely doesn't represent a discount from their suggested retail price (also $199.99). Since the pre-pub price normally represents the lowest possible price you can get a title from Logos, this represents a huge jump. The Logos price is also the suggested retail price of the book set ($199.99), but again, usually you can get them at a discounted rate.

On the whole, though, this is good news. The more titles available on a single platform, the better. I like Logos as a portable Library, and the addition of Zondervan titles only strengthens it. Bravo Zondervan, for finally seeing the light. Now, can you do something about the price?