Everyone’s all a twitter, er, I mean a flutter over Apple’s iPad. I’ve written a number of  posts here about it. I am actually excited about it. But there is a possibility that the iPad may end up hurting eBook readers.

I have a Kindle and have a friend who enjoys his Sony reader. I love being able to pull out my Kindle and sample a chapter of a book that someone recommends. I love having a number of translations of the Bible as well as a dozen or more books available in a small device. I love my Kindle. But I think what I really like is that most books are much cheaper on the Kindle than in paper form.

Now that Apple is letting the publishers control much more of the pricing for their soon to be released iPad, Amazon is trying hard to keep publishers in the fold. Could the cheaper eBook prices go away or at least go up as a result? It is insane that in most markets where competition drives prices down for consumers, this is one arena where it might go up. The reason is that consumers are not as important as the publishers, who are clutching control of their content with a death grip.  If these companies do not get the publishers on board there is nothing to sell to consumers. So they are willing to temporarily ignore the best interests of the customers, paying more to publishers in the form of control over pricing. The result is more expensive books for readers.

I believe this is a temporary thing; electronic publishing is going to make books much cheaper eventually. But in the interim those of us with Kindles may have to pay more thanks to Apple’s deal with publishers in the days leading up to iPad’s launch.

Speed is everything. Well, not always. In fact I don’t really think that how fast a Bible app opens on the iPhone or iPod Touch is that big a factor in judging the quality of a Bible app so long as it opens in a decent amount of time (less than 6-10 seconds) and does actually open. However, with the recent upgrade of OliveTree, the speed at which the app opens has become a bragging point. OliveTree says they cut the time it takes to open the app in half. So I got curious and tested my four favorites (Laridian PocketBible, Logos, MantisBible and OliveTree)  plus YouVersion since it is so popular. Just a note, the only reason I don’t count YouVersion as one of my favorites is that it really is only a Bible reading app. There are no commentaries or other recourses in it. Just so you can try it out, what I did was open each app cold – which is to say that I had not opened it previously. Apps will open faster if they were open before since the iPhone OS leaves some programs in memory. So to ensure this, I actually rebooted my iPhone by pressing and holding the power button on the top and the home botton just below the screen. It gives you a red slider and you slide it into position and the phone shuts down.  Press and hold the power button on the top of the device to start it back up after about a minute. Then I made sure that it was fully started and began by first opening the each Bible app first cold (never opened before) and then I closed it by pressing the home button and reopened it.  I timed just counting 1-1,000, 2-1,000. I know it is not that scientific but its good enough for this kind of test.

Here are my results.

PocketBible opened up to HCSB cold in 7 seconds. It reopened in less than 3 seconds.

OliveTree opened up to ESV cold in 4 seconds. It reopened in less than 2 seconds.

Logos opened to the Home screen (cannot open directly to a Bible) in less than 5 seconds. There was no difference when reopening. This is probably due to the fact that it must contact the Logos server.  I was testing using Wi-Fi.

MantisBible opened to the ESV cold in just under 5seconds.  It reopened in just over 3 seconds.

YouVersion opened to NET cold in 4 seconds. It reopened in 5 seconds. I downloaded the translation so that I’d be opening an offline version.

My conclusion is that while OliveTree is one of the fastest, it is not so much faster that it should be a factor in app quality. In fact, unless I notice a program taking a very long time to open, I would never even mention this in future reviews of Bible apps for the iPhone. Finally, since Logos has to contact the Logos server except when you have your phone in airplane mode, it will take longer if you have a slower connection. Most of the time Wi-Fi will be the fastests with 3G next followed by Edge. Sometimes when I am on Edge, Logos’ app is very slow to open. The iPhone OS gives an app 30 seconds to open. If it fails to open in that amount of time, then it will kill the app making it look like it is crashing. Sadly, on Edge this as caused problems when opening Logos’ app. It MantisBible used to have this problem, but they fixed it. I’ve never had this problem with OliveTree or PocketBible. And YouVersion will always need an Internet connection to be used effectively.

In a world where customer service is pitiful in most industries, it is nice that one industry in which I am a frequent customer has great customer service. I’m talking about the Bible Software industry.

From PC applications to iPhone apps, I have installed software from about 10 different companies.  And nearly every one of them does a really good job of supporting their products. I was thinking about this so I thought I’d give out some kudos via my blog.

1. Phone Support – A hold time is not unusual in software support. Hold times over an hour are often common. But I’ve never been on hold more than about 10-15 minutes. This is my least used method of support, but nearly every time I have had to call a company for support they have been friendly and helpful, often bending over backwards to do a good job. Recently I called Logos about an account issue. They’ve had some struggles with very fast growth and as a result less than ideal phone support (long hold times). But my experience was very good. A few months ago I was installing Bibleworks and had to call about a very unusual problem that 99% of the population would not face. But they handled it quickly and were more than friendly/helpful. Over the years I’ve talked on the phone with others and never been disappointed.

2. Email Support – If you don’t hear back in less than 24 hours on weekdays and by the end of Business Monday, then you are getting bad support. I’ve never had to wait longer than that except in rare  circumstances. Usually it has been a person instead of just an automatic response with canned FAQ answers. When it has been a canned response it was just to say, “We got your email and will handle it soon.” Then within a few hours I did.

3. Online Support – A good company will have online support with updates to the software (if updating is not built in), FAQs so I can help myself quickly, and a Forum where users or company people can help. When they do have Forums they will be busy with lots of people helping and answering questions quickly.  There are only a couple of Bible software companies that I have used that don’t have good online support. Some of them have such great forums that I go daily and have even developed online friends via these support forums.

4. Social Media Support – It is cool that I can send a Tweet via Twitter or a message via Facebook and someone from the company will get back to me. Also, the best companies will Tweet suggested tips, new resources, and will offer discounts to Twitter and Facebook users.

5. Training – Some Bible programs are so advanced that a simple Help menu or manual is not enough. Good companies offer online videos and maybe even training sessions in your area. This is the least likely area of support for Bible software companies. But many are doing a good job of this.

In a future Christian Computing Magazine article, I might just test some of the most popular programs and apps in these five areas and see how they stack up. From my personal experience, I expect to be very pleased.

I just got back from my first Camp Logos, a seminary to help users of Logos Bible Software learn how to use this powerful program. First, let me say that Morris Proctor is a very good teacher. A seminar of this kind might seem like a long boring thing to sit through. Two full days of watching some guy point out how to use a Bible study program? Ugh!! But it was anything but boring even though about half of the content was not new to me at all. I was a beta tester of the program which means that I have been using it for longer than most (six months) and it is hard to learn something new about a program after using it almost every day for that long. Despite this, Moe (Proctor’s self identified nickname) does a great job of making the seminary move quickly. Attendees are not only informed but even entertained by his keen sense of humor. Moe is also very personable with a humble attitude. When he says, “Email me with any questions” you believe he will likely respond himself. We will see if he does. He is a former pastor and preacher who started teaching fellow pastors how to use the program years ago. He did such a good job of it that Logos made him the “Authorized Logos Trainer” for the company.

Second, even intermediate (which is likely where I would fit) users will learn. He does a good job of showing lots of undocumented tricks and keystrokes. The way he has you follow along on your own computer (or a borrowed one if you don’t have a laptop to bring) forces you to learn the time saving keyboard shortcuts. I will always use them saving me lots of time.

Finally, if all you did was customize the way he suggests, it would likely be worth the fee. He shows you how to do some time saving customization. I also ordered the advanced manuals and his self published book about sermon preparation. I look forward to learning more. I really hope that I will get to hear him preach some time as I am sure it would be a great experience.

If you want to attend a Camp Logos, you can do so for $225. The schedule of upcoming camps is on the MP Seminars site. When you go, you will have two days of training. You will get a seminar syllabus with information about what you are learning. Bring your laptop or rent one of theirs for $15.  The Camp Logos I is an overview of the program and how to use the basic and a look at some of the advanced features. Camp Logos II delves deeper into the advanced features including language study. While there you will hear what Moe suggests as some of the best Logos books to buy and even gives discounts.

I hope to be able to go to a Camp Logos II sometime soon. I wouldn’t mind doing the Camp Logos Cruise to Alaska in June. Sadly, I cannot.

Finally, let me say a big thanks to Central Baptist Church in Henderson, NC the host of the seminar. They provided lunch for a reasonable fee as well as drinks and snacks for the break times each day.

Here is a quick video from Moe on Camp Logos

Camp Promo from MP Seminars on Vimeo.

Social networking and Bible study should go together. The iPad may help us in this venture.  I read about some interesting key points (thanks to Gizmodo) that Apple wants developers to keep in mind as they prep iPhone and Touch apps for the iPad coming sometime in the next two months. One of the points said:

They’re super into the sharing thing: "Think of ways people might want to use your application with others. Expand your thinking to include both the physical sharing of a single device and the virtual sharing of data."

As I read that I thought again about the thing I am most excited about when it comes to using the new iPad – Bible study.  How could developers of Bible study apps incorporate more “sharing” so that we could take advantage of the “application with others”? Already there is some social network built into a few of my favorite Bible apps on iPhone/Touch. YouVersion is probably the best at this with their community based app that can be used by people together in church or together commenting and sharing about the app. My problem is I don’t like the YouVersion’s selection of content or the interface. I also really don’t like only being able to use it online, although you can now download a number of Bibles. While it may be the most downloaded app, it is not more favorite and I don’t have it installed.

Of my favorite Bible apps, Logos can post to Facebook and Twitter from within the app. You can also email verses from within Logos. But there is no two way interaction. Olive Tree syncs notes with Evernote, so I guess there could be some do it yourself interaction there.  Neither Laridian PocketBible nor MantisBible have any social interaction at all.

Imagine, if someone would really jump on this with some really useful social interactivity. I could imagine a Bible app that …

• Let’s people share reading plans by marking them to be shared between devices and posted to social networking sights
• Highlighting and other mark-up that is shared in real time. A pastor or Bible study leader wants everyone to look at the word “perish” in John 3:16 so in social networking mode, everyone’s Bible app would sync to the same place (John 3:16) and the word “perish” would be highlighted. Then a note he had already added the word would pop up on everyone’s device with the same content saying “perish means to destroy yourself. God is not responsible for our perishing; we are.” I could then tap a spot in the pop up to save it to my mark-ups or just let it go away once the social networking session is finished.
• What if I had a book on my device that I wanted others to see while we are studying together – like TWOT as we look up an Old Testament Hebrew word. They might have access to TWOT, but for this session they can see it temporarily during the study. There would also be a link somewhere on the other person’s screen giving him/her the opportunity to purchase this book either now or later. This would be a good way to legally share content either temporarily or permanently and would give a revenue stream to the software maker.
• Like YouVersion, it would be nice to have a “wall” where we could post comments or sermon notes so that anyone searching that version could access the public content. There could also be a collaborative way to create content together from within the program that is later searchable.

These are just a few ideas. What would you like to see in this kind of app. I know that some of the Bible app producers read this sight so you can speak to them via this post and comments.