You can now download PocketBible for Android directly from Google Play. This has the advantage of giving you automatic update notifications and allows those users who cannot install third-party software outside Google Play to download the app. For those of you who have devices that do not have Google Play, you can still download the program directly from us by just entering LPB.cc/android into your Web browser on your Android device.
This doesn’t mean we’re done working on PocketBible for Android. We set a goal for ourselves of having certain features implemented prior to release on Google Play and once that goal was reached we uploaded the program. But we continue to add features. In particular, we need to get notes, highlights, and bookmarks working in the program, along with tracking of your devotional reading progress. These features will be enhanced as compared to our iOS (iPhone/iPad) version, as your data will be kept in continuous sync with “Laridian cloud” instead of requiring you to stop what you’re doing and perform a sync operation manually.
The released version of PocketBible for Android on the Google Play store should install over your “alpha” version. You shouldn’t have to delete the program before installing from Google Play, nor should you have to re-download your Bibles and books when you’re done.
The new version includes built-in help, so the old blog article that contained operating instructions will be retired soon.
We want to thank those of you who have been using the “alpha” versions of PocketBible from our site. We’ve been able to eliminate most of the major show-stopping bugs with your help.
Going forward, if you need help with PocketBible for Android, contact Technical Support through the “Help Desk” link on our website.
Tags: Android, PocketBible
I meant to also say that I installed PB from Google Plan with no issues.
Thanks.
Thanks, well worth the wait, loaded like a ream on my HTC desire and already used in anger (before sunset
)
Well worth the wait
Great work Craig and Jon.
Is there a way that I could change add the settings options to allow PocketBible on Android to render in the 5 pane format? I have a 720p format phone and it could work well. You would need to allow settings to layout, ppi or large switches. Thank you for considering.
Michael
Hey Everyone! There’s a new version out there that adds the unneeded yet often requested for some reason exit option. It also gives an option to hide Strong’s Numbers as well as a few other things.
Thank you Jon and Craig for your continued work on this great product!
+1 Michael on the ability to add more panes than two on Android phones. It’s rare these day’s to have an Android phone with a screen under 4.3″ and fairly common to have one that’s 4.7″ or more. Actually, In Windows Mobile I used 5 or 6 panes at 4″ and 480×640 and that worked fine.
I have a suggestion for implementing the extra split screens if you see it as a possible issue based on device for some reason. How about you keep it set to two by default but add an option in settings that lets people toggle it to a mode that allows up to 5 panes? That should keep it very safe by default but give the option for more panes for those who want it.
I can completely understand if you want to finish Notes, Highlights, and Bookmarks before adding more panes but figured I’d throw this out there anyway since I recently saw a reference to the iPhone version offering more panes:)
1.0.3 is another big step forward. Thanks for the Exit button. Being able to turn the Strongs Numbers on or off means I can keep only only copy of the KJV or the NASB instead of two – one for regular reading and one for the Strongs numbers.
I may be stating the obvious, but I discovered that after selecting a second Bible in the active pane, I can use the back and Forward arrows (or menu for Forward) to quickly jump back and forth between Bible versions while still maintaining a notes or commentary in the second pane. Of course on my tablet, I can have 2-3-4 Bibles open at a time. But on the phone, with only two panes, this is an easy way to have more books open.
Hi. This is improving steadily – thank you. I have been using it since Palm through IPhone and now Android.
It is very fast. I also notice however that it is quite battery intensive, easily the most of any of my apps (by screen time). Is that simply because of the constant pre-loading, syncing and cross-referencing etc? I am not a programmer so I don’t really know but I am concerned about battery usage like on an overseas flight.
Thanks!
Tom
It’s hard to comment without context and details. But I would argue that an app like PocketBible is going to use more battery than lots of other apps because it is something you interact with to use. It doesn’t do anything more than it should, and we go out of our way to make sure it doesn’t use battery life unnecessarily. It’s also hard to comment without knowing what you’re comparing against and what you’re doing with all your apps. And in the end, the whole reason you have a mobile device is to use up the battery. Otherwise, just leave it turned off — that’s your best way of conserving the battery.
Tom, what Android device do you have? Many newer phones, unfortunately, have OLED (AMOLED, Super AMOLED, Super AMOLED Advanced, Super AMOLED Plus, Super AMOLED HD) screens. While they have a few advantages over LCD they take a lot of battery power because every pixel is lit individually. Because of the way they work, black actually takes no power and white takes the most power. By default the display in pocket Bible is mostly white (which I think is the way it should be). If you have an OLED display, which sounds like the case, you may want to try using white text on a black background. You can also use the dark color scheme to darken the rest of the PocketBible user interface. Thanks to the Chinese menu of color setting in PocketBible you should be able to make changes that will save a lot of power! The white on black and dark scheme is also easier on the eyes if you’re reading in the dark.
Also most Android devices when set to “auto” brightness use a brighter setting than what is needed for indoor use. Try setting that off and something around 10-20% brightness instead. You’ll probably find this comfortable even though it will be dimmer and this will help your battery a lot as well. This applies to OLED or LCD – any Android device can most get improved battery life by adjusting this assuming it’s set to “auto”.
I recommend using this widget:
Brightness Level by CurveFish
Which you can find on Google Play to easily change your brightness settings.
I also use this widget:
No Screen Off by Etienne de Closmadeuc
as a very easy way to set your screen so it doesn’t go off while you’re reading.
I really like PocketBible and it works well on my phone. One feature of the old iPaq version I used to use which I miss is the ability to move through the search results without going back to the list. On the android version I have to go back to the start of the list of references and scroll down again each time. Will that be coming soon?
Keep up the good work.
Thank you to both Craigs. I am using a Note 2 and it works great. About the battery use, the more I use it the more it just seems that is it, like you said, simply because it is interacted with so often. If I am simply reading on a single screen (without syncing) and not cross-referencing much it seems on par with all other similar apps.
I am always interested in tweaking for battery life (sort of a weird hobby!) so I do turn off auto-brightness inside and use the white on black screen on almost all my apps. I also avoid live wallpapers, etc. Recently I went back to traditional black on white (radical, I know) and prefer that look. I haven’t noticed any big jump in battery usage. And like you said, it’s meant to be used and it is not like a live on a deserted island without power.
It’s a speedy app and I use it daily. Thank you. I don’t know what you have coming next but I would like to see a swipe or something to switch between open Bibles and/or commentaries without going through the menu system – similar to the iphone version. Also, I toggle for sync on the main page would be useful for me.
Tom
Tom, although I have a Super AMOLED display as well I also prefer black text on a white background so that’s what I normally use as well:) Sometimes I do switch it if I’m reading in bed with the lights off because it’s easier on the eyes.
I like the idea of swiping between open books as well but I’m torn because I do like the way swiping moves between chapters now. In the old Windows Mobile version there were a billion configuration options and I think you could define what you wanted the app to do for each action (tapping at different sides of the screen, swiping, etc). Maybe a future version will give us some of those options. I think they’ve mentioned that they’re working on a context menu too so that could provide quick access to a previous/next book/chapter as well. Maybe a two-finger tap menu since that’s faster (hey, don’t laugh) than tap and hold.
I’m glad to see how far PocketBible for Android has come and I look forward to see where they go with it. I already love the book management (downloading, installing, buying) built into the app now which was never available for Windows Mobile.
Craig
New update today, what are the changes? 1.0.4 build 35
The current version of your software is running flawlessly on Galaxy Note 10.1 OS 4.1.2 Android Jellybean
Thanks for all of your hard work.
Rick
Rick,
The major new feature is a setting to allow users to select where their books get downloaded. In most cases the program is able to find any external/removable sd cards.
Jon
Jon with 1.0.4 I canot get into my books I own to remove them so I can redownload them onto my Ext SD card. The note comes up each time to say “Unfortunatly Pocketbible has stopped”
Jon; When you first brought out ver 1.04 I tried it and after a few hicups PB was able to find my Samsung Tab 2 7 removable storage but I was unable to download a book to it. Even worse, PB stopped working completely and it was necessary to completely uninstall PB and then downllad 1.03. I have been reluctant to try again until I hear later reports of those using Tab 2 7 successfully. Any later news?
After moving to Android from Windows Phone, I abandoned Pocketbible in its early stages of development. Now, it is a mature application that I can take with me anywhere on my Android phone and tablet. Thank you for all the work you have done to get this to this stage. God bless you as you continue his work.
I’m pleased to see yet another Android PB update today! Like many, I’m wondering what new feature(s) is included, and I’d like to suggest that perhaps the “welcome” text that replaces my pane 1 book include the update history.
Rick,
1.0.5 was almost entirely bug fixes, but no real features were added. Anyone having trouble with previous versions might want to give it a shot.
John & Ivan,
Can you send me (jong@lardian.com) the error log from your devices. It should be at “/PocketBible/ErrorLog.log”. This whole SD-card business is really tricky stuff. It is impossible for me to test on all devices, so I cannot predict what happens in all scenarios. Your error logs would go a long way to help me understand what went wrong.
Thanks,
Jon
Jon; I downloaded 1.05 and tried to download a book to my removable storage, but PB stops working. Even worse, I am unable to find the error log. You are dealing with an old fossil (me) so I am lost as help.
Ivan,
Are you still able to download to other locations on the device?
As for the log, if you connect the device to your computer using a USB cable, you can navigate the contents of the device through your computer’s file explorer program. If the error log is there it will be found in a folder called “PocketBible” located at the root of either the device memory or the external storage. The fill will be called “ErrorLog.log”. It is possible that there was an error writing out the log file as well, so it may not be there.
Thanks anyway for trying Ivan. I hope we can get everything working for you soon.
Jon