PocketSword is a recently released iPhone and iPod touch Bible app sponsored by the CrossWire Bible Society. It is great for those who only want public domain books. It is also the only iPhone app I know of that allows a user to create his or her own module using the format sponsored by CrossWire’s SWORD Project. The project’s purpose is to produce Bible software for as many platforms as possible using a “common technology.” The iPhone app is now available in v. 1.0 in the App Store.

The app is free and has a lot of free content available for download. It comes with the KJV (with Strong’s, but at this point the Strong’s info is not displayed) and Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary installed. But you can add other Bibles and commentaries as well from within the app.

The interface, as you can see is very simple. You open the app and across the bottom there are five navigational buttons. Each takes you to a different part of the program. You can read the currently open Bible, the currently open commentary, or tap the module button to open a different Bible or commentary.  Currently, that is all that PS has available – Bibles and Commentaries. Other Bible apps let you read books, look up words in dictionaries, etc. The number of modules available is extensive if all you want are free, public domain books. The only modern translations available were the English Standard Version and the New English Translation. The rest are public domain books. Users of the other CrossWire Sword Project applications for Linux, Windows, MAC or other PDA will be happy. Also if you are an e-Sword (unrelated to the SWORD Project) user, then you will likely not miss the modern works. I do so PocketSword will never be more than just a curiosity to me.

Navigating through the Bible is simple. You can either tap the arrow buttons on the top to take you from chapter to chapter. Or you can tap the reference button which reveals the very unique iPhone scrolling selector. I personally prefer a bingo style Book, Chapter, Verse selector as is available in many of the other iPhone apps. But the scrolling style selector works.

As I mentioned above, there are many available resources. To get them you will have to download and install them. This is a simple process from within the app. Select More on the bottom right and then Downloads. There will be a list of CrossWire sites available (likely two at this point) with a list of all the available modules. Try the first one and you will see Biblical Texts and Commentaries. Tap one and you will see a long list. There are dozens of Bibles in languages I never new existed. I found the Ancient Greek section and downloaded Westcott and Hort’s Greek text of the NT. And then went into the English texts to find ESV, NET, and a couple of others. Downloading takes just a short time on a fast connection. When it is finished and installed you can then open that text to read offline.  I then got a couple of commentaries including JFB, Barnes, the NET Notes and others. Make sure you check out the second CrossWire server too. There were a few different works there not available on the first.

The preferences in PS are simple. You can change the Font Size and Style. You can also switch to a night mode with dark background and light text. The app has a lock to keep it from going into landscape mode when reading in bed. You can display text in a verse per line mode or paragraph mode. You can also show words of Christ in red letter in some translations.

There are few frills like notes, devotional tracking, syncing, dual pane view. But you can add bookmarks.

The PocketSword app is a nice Bible and commentary reader. It is not much more. Unless you are looking for public domain books, I would look at one of the more advanced tools available. But due give it a download and test since it is free.

One thing that PS has that no one else does right now is the give you the ability to create and load your own content.  To do so you will have to jump through a lot of hoops. See the PocketSword web site for instructions. The process does not look like a minor affair. You have to create a specially formatted Zip file in the CrossWire format. You then load it on your device through a WebKit enabled browser. Safari and Chrome work but the site says that Firefox does not and they have not tried it on IE. You connect your device via wifi and go through your browser and then open the app on the device and go into a special mode from within the preferences called Module Maintainer Mode.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, when I say that no one else lets you create resources for their app, I am talking about on the iPhone. Laridian does have a book builder that is available for $99.00. According to Craig Rairdin of Laridian, they will let you host your books if you use the Pro version to create it. So, Laridian does give you an option to create and load books on the iPhone.

If you want to use the app and get help, not only check out the site but also the user forum. The are not very active yet, but if the app takes off I am sure they will be.

My latest article for Christian Computing Magazine is online at: http://www.ccmag.com/articles/articles.php?recordID=236.
This month I reviewed QuickVerse 2010 & BibleGlo.

The Logos iPhone app is decent. One of the limitations I complained about in my review was the lack of content you have in the PC app available on the iPhone. This is not the fault of Logos, but still a limitation. However, things got better today as more of my content showed up. I am reading (or have read through) John MacAurthur’s The Glory of Heaven in the desktop app. But it had not be available on the iPhone app. But it is now. Frustratingly, as far as I can tell, there is no list of available content anywhere. Would be interested in knowing if I am wrong and where such a list is.

If you use an iPhone and want to improve your prayer life, then this app is for you. PrayerParnter from Laridian is a nice little program and it is available in the app store now. I will update this post with a more in depth review, but just so you know that I will be giving it at least four and probably five stars in the App Store.

The basic gist of it is that it helps you keep track of your prayer requests and praise reports.  It is able to tie requests to contacts and can email encouragement and requests to others. It is simple to use and Laridian paid attention to detail with this little app.  At $1.99 it is a no brainer. I often get review copies of apps, but I just bought this one. It is already at 1.0 the best prayer app in the app store.

How very sad.  Please pray for our brothers and sisters in China as they face persecution. For explanation of what I’m talking about see the link below.

Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China – International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News – FOXNews.com.

This might be the single greatest play by a defensive back in run support I’ve ever seen in my 20 years of watching professional football.

Untitled from david on Vimeo.

In my recent review of Logos 4, I gave it a mixed review. I called it “worth adding to your arsenal” but also said that it was “missing a few of the previous version’s functionality.”

t it is getting better. I just installed the latest beta version of Logos 4.0a which is available for download now. In it there are many new features. Let me mention a few:

First, there is a new ability to change the background color of the open resources. You can see this is the screenshot below.

Also, notice that in the drop down there is the option to show Bible Text Only. The screenshot shows this. It removes all the extraneous things to get at just the text. No titles or footnotes.

Another new feature is the ability to customize the Ribbon on the Logos 4 Home page.

One of the most criticized features was the ribbon. Users said it was too big and they wanted to be able to remove things. For example, it contains the above “Choose preferred Bible” feature. I like to do that because I go back and forth between the ESV and HCSB as my preferred Bible. But I don’t like using lectionaries very much. So I removed the lectionary and the recent reading lists. The way to do this is click the customize button on the bottom left of the Home Page as seen to the left.

I also have to say that there are a bunch of things that Logos 4 does that Logos 3 could not do. In a recent Logos 4 forum post, Philip Spitzer – one of the more advanced users – lists some of them. You can see from his list there are quite a few things. Click the link to read more about these, but here are some he mentions.

Sympathetic Highlighting
Savable Guides
Customizable Guides
Syncing
Multi-monitor Layout
Reading Lists

Another advanced user and Logos MVP, Thomas Black added Automatic Updating. I would add the ability to put notes on a Guide.

The single greatest improvement in the beta is performance. Logos 4 is not nearly as sluggish in version 4.0a beta 3 as it was in the pure 4.0 release or even the current public 4.0 SR7 release (SR stands for Service Release, I believe). Sadly, the Notes feature is still very sluggish. But the rest of the beta is much better in the performance department.

Is Logos 4 where it needs to be yet? No. This is just a beta release. When they get all of this functionality and more into a public release, then I will be even more impressed. But I wanted to give credit where credit is due. And they have improved it greatly. At this rate, by mid 2010 Logos 4 should be the great software that 3.0 was.

If you spend a lot of time in your browser, like I do, then you need a good one. They keys to a good browser are …

1. Simple to use

2. Fast

3. Secure

4. Has good features like mouse gestures the ability to interface with a good password manager and bookmark/favorites synchronization service

Thanks to the new extensions features, I think Google Chrome fits the bill. I have just started using it and I really like it. Check out the extensions at Google Chrome Extensions. You have to have the latest beta version of Chrome to make them work.

Sorry, but this is not a post about my offering to enter into a prayer partner relationship with you. Although I might.

What I’m talking about is a new iPhone app that I’ve had the pleasure of beta testing from Laridian, the makers of the great new, and always improving, Bible app, PocketBible.

PrayerPartner is not yet available on the iPhone but it has been submitted so it could be ready in as little as 2 weeks.  The app does what its name says. It partners with you to help you in your prayer life. The app lets you record and track prayer requests, praises, and people. It interfaces with the iPhone’s contact database so you can attach prayers to a person.  You can also make prayers repeat. The app will probably cost just $1.99 so check back and I will post when it is ready. Below are some screen shots from the Laridian Blog article about it. By the way, I often get free review copies of the apps I talk about here. But this is one I will not even be asking for a review copy of … I will be paying. Not much but it shows the real value I place in this app.

This is the home screen

This is the screen where you edit a request

Here is the category list

This is the screen where you record the request.

You can also keep a prayer journal, email prayer requests to other people or send an email to a person for whom you are praying.

For this …

Click picture to go to IMDB