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Logos for iPhone/iPod: Not Quite the Dream Yet

When I heard about the Logos 4 app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, I imagined that it was my dream fulfilled. The full realization of my dream is yet deferred, however, as both Chris and Danny pointed out on my previous post. Chris says:

Also, I can use all of my Accordance modules and Bible Reader (for iPhone) modules without an Internet connection—that’s not true for the Logos iPhone application (I don’t have direct personal experience with the desktop version of Logos 4).

Danny chimes in:

Chris made the point I wanted to make about the iPhone version. I think the Logos iPhone app is a great thing- but you are not going to be syncing your library to your iPhone. You will be syncing your library to a cloud, and your iPhone will be able to use and access anything in your cloud. If you can’t connect to the cloud (internet connection) then you got nothing.

I verified on the Logos website in response to FAQ’s:

Do I need to be connected to internet for the app to work?

Yes. The Logos Bible Software app does not store any Bibles or books on your device. You will need to be connected to the internet via your cell phone service provider or Wi-Fi.

Bob Pritchett responds by saying “But did we mention it’s free? :-) ”. Okay, it’s free, but it’s also being cited as a reason that Logos is better than other programs and thus should be purchased. If I’m making a decision to upgrade based in part upon this feature, then I want to make sure this is a feature that is worth the extra cash.

So, Bob also gives us a little glimmer of hope:

No rest for the weary… :-)

Yes, we did realize this would be the first question. And offline access is in our plans.

But a combination of issues — the amount of content, the desire to not have to charge you twice (at the behest of either the publisher or Apple), and some technical concerns — caused us to put this off.

(It’s not hard to store your books on the iPhone. It’s hard to implement our search engine, data type comparison system, data type parsing/rendering, cross-library searching for Guides, text comparison algorithm, etc. on the iPhone. We’ll get there, but we thought you’d be happy to get some basic reading and searching going first. By offloading to the server — where we can share code we built for the desktop app — we can offer a lot more power.)

Also, keep in mind that some users have literally gigabytes of content, and this Internet-based solution allows you to work with every bit of it that publishers allow (we’re still securing rights — the list will change constantly) without having to explicitly download or manage the resources.

I’m glad my actual dream (though it was originally about the Kindle) is in the works.

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5 Comments by Patrick George McCullough  /  November 29, 2009  /  Posted in: iPhone, iPod Touch, logos bible software
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  • http://higgaion.heardworld.com Christopher Heard

    Just to be clear: the application is free, but it’s just a gateway to (a subset of the) content you’ve otherwise paid $150 and up for.

    BibleReader with KJV and ASV only costs $0.99 in the App Store. If you have purchased modules for BibleReader on another platform, Olive Tree doesn’t charge you again to get the same content on your iPhone. In this respect, with Bible Reader you pay $0.99 over the Logos price in order to get offline access and searching capabilities for your Bibles, including Hebrew and Greek Bibles. Of course, if you want other Bibles you’ll have to pay for them á là carte, but that’s no different from Logos in this respect. Bible Reader offers a range of free “resources” as well, including some overlap with the Logos “Christian Home” entry-level package (Pilgrim’s Progress, Matthew Henry commentary, that sort of thing).

  • http://www.logos.com/iphone Dave Dunkin

    The Logos iPhone app with over 60 resources, including KJV, ASV, original language Bibles and tools, are ALL FREE. You do not need to purchase Logos 4 to use the free resources.

  • http://patmccullough.com/ Patrick George McCullough

    Thanks, Dave. Thing is, I’m not really crazy about the free resources, particularly the KJV. The Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament is not very helpful for me either. I’m going to want my NA27 and some more standard translations that scholars use, like the NRSV or even the RSV.

    In other words, the completely free version of the app (sans Logos 4 syncronization) is so far from my dream it’s not even comparable for me.

  • http://www.logos.com/iphone Dave Dunkin

    I was addressing Christopher’s comment that the app was free but you had to purchase the resources.

    Logos is still working with publishers for permission to deliver other translations to the iPhone app. Keep the dream alive!

  • http://patmccullough.com/ Patrick George McCullough

    Oh, I think Chris is talking about the Accordance app–clarifying from his statement quoted above in the post.