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.
