Apple announced its long awaited iPad tablet device last week, and like you we were all anxious to see it.
What we’re being told is that it will run most iPhone apps unmodified. They will only take up about 1/4 of the screen, since the iPad screen is significantly larger than the iPhone. We don’t have any reason to believe PocketBible won’t run on the iPad, but we’re doing what we can to make sure.
While the SDK has been distributed to developers, it is only a beta and we are unable to build what Apple calls “universal apps” that will allow the same binary file to run on either an iPhone or an iPad. We also don’t have access to pre-production devices, so we can only run in the emulator that is built into the development tools. So we have some reason to believe that PocketBible will work as-is but can’t be absolutely sure at this point because we’ve never seen it run on a device.
There are some simple user interface changes we’ll be making in the short term to better take advantage of the iPad’s capabilities. In addition, there are some new capabilities in the iPad version of the OS that aren’t yet in the iPhone that we’d like to investigate — what Apple calls “Core Text” is at the top of that list.
It’s not obvious from the end-user point of view, but PocketBible pushes the limits of the iPhone’s abilities when it comes to displaying text. PocketBible is exactly the type of application that the iPhone OS was not designed for — that is, an app that does sophisticated text rendering. The new iPad, with its bigger screen and potentially more usable keyboard, invites applications like word processors that need sophisticated layout capabilities. PocketBible is in that camp.
This is not unique to the iPhone. Windows Mobile also lacks key text rendering capabilities that are present in its big brother, Windows on the desktop. For example, it’s not possible in Windows Mobile to accurately measure the width of a piece of text as it will be displayed on the screen. You can almost do it, but it doesn’t work right for bold and italics. So we’ve had to implement our own functions for this.
We could probably get into a lengthy discussion of whether or not this form factor is something the public will accept. I’ve seen everything from people who want it to replace their phone (assuming they can keep from knocking themselves unconscious when they answer it) to those who point out that tablet computers with full-blown operating systems have failed to capture consumer attention, which causes one to question whether a similar device with a mobile OS stands a chance.
That said, one of my long-standing complaints about devices such as the Sony Reader and the Kindle are that they don’t allow any kind of third-party software. (Or at least until recently when Amazon announced a “Kindle Developer’s Kit” for Kindle.) My Kindle is great, but it’s horrible for Bible study because the software simply doesn’t have the features you need to access an integrated Bible library, or even perform moderately sophisticated searches. Viewed as a souped-up e-book reader, the iPad may stand a chance. While it’s hard to imagine anyone beating Amazon’s selection of e-books for Kindle, if anyone has a chance of doing so it would be Apple.
The iPad could actually be the perfect electronic Bible study device. It’s just portable enough to be truly portable, while being large enough to facilitate convenient cross-referencing between titles.
From a developer’s standpoint there’s not a whole lot to complain about. It’s like a big iPhone, so everything we’ve learned about iPhone and Mac programming transfers painlessly to the iPad. We’re not crazy about the shortsightedness of some of their new features (“split views” being at the top of that list for you programmers) but we’ve also seen initial shortsightedness in the iPhone OS get repaired in subsequent releases. Unfortunately, like the similar issues that arose years ago on the Palm OS, by the time the official solutions are released everyone has already coded their own work-arounds to meet user demand.
What all this boils down to is that we fully plan to support the iPad and in fact enhance PocketBible over time to take advantage of unique iPad features. We think it could be an ideal Bible study platform for those who have the spare change to invest in one.
The ability to see two translation side by side would be great. Or a second window with the notes side by side windows that show the Bible text on one and the notes from the Net Bible or the Life Application Bible in the other.
I’m still on the fence on the iPad but I could be pursuaded with the right software on it.
Thank you for this review. Laridian products have been my mobile bible study products of choice for years… ever since my PocketPC days. It is good to know that they will be availble if I do choose to get an iPad. Which, btw, is tempting
)
Rebekah
That’s great news Craig.
Just another reason to order an iPad.
Gotta say, PocketBible is a killer app for the iPad. It’s exactly why someone would even WANT an iPad in the first place. Do a good job and I may even be tempted to buy an iPad!
What is the possibility of making the page turning feature iPod gesture “finger flick” work on the PocketBible main reading page, too? It is so anti-natural to have to use the “screen zones” would it be possible for you to make that feature by for example a double screen tap? This is so distracting to using the program as every other section of your program uses this feature, as well as most other programs for iPod. I love PocketBible for iPod completely except for this feature. I’ve been a customer since the first palm version.
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks!!! This is good news indeed. I will be purchasing an iPad as soon as they are available and look forward to installing the iPad enhanced version of PocketBible to it as soon as I unbox it.
Mike: If you mean flicking right to left to turn the page (that is, the natural page flipping motion), then PocketBible already does it. If you mean using your finger to drag up and down to move the text, I’ve written extensively on that here.
John: I’m with you completely: “PocketBible is a killer app for the iPad. It’s exactly why someone would even WANT an iPad in the first place.”
Thanks! I couldn’t agree more and look forward to the iPad and the iPad version of PocketBible.
I have been wondering about the chances of using my Bibles on my Kindle too. Now that they have added the possibility of Apps, are you guys considering a program for that device? If so, it would be my favorite device ever. I don’t use my PDA anymore, but do carry my Kindle everywhere. I’m using my Laridian software on my netbook right now and I’m happy with that, so need for an iPad.
Shawna: We “consider” every platform. And even after we dismiss a platform from our immediate plans, we continue to consider it for the future.
Once we start developing for a platform, we continuously reconsider whether or not it’s a good idea to see it through to completion, or if our resources might be better spent somewhere else.
Suffice to say at this point that we’re aware of the Kindle Development Kit. Very little information about it is available as of this date.
Glad you’re enjoying PocketBible on your netbook. PocketBible is ideal for such lightweight platforms.
I was immediately impressed with the iPad and my first impulse was “I want one!!” but then I started to reconsider if I could really justify it..
but I hadn’t seriously considered PocketBible. As John said above, this is potentially the killer app, at least for me.
the problem I have with PockBible for iPhone, Windows mobile etc is purely one of size – the small screen and small amount of text on view is not conducive to serious Bible study, although it’s great for reading along in church or in a group, or for simple personal reading. Although I’ve purchased almost all of the commentaries etc available from Laridian I must say I don’t really use them to their potential. So an iPad with it’s larger screen real estate and ability to display more text, would be the perfect Bible study tool! Although you must have a split screen feature – while this would be cool on the iPhone, it will be ten times more valuable and useful on the iPad.
Super excited about this!
That’s great news. Seems to me, Apple, Inc. should help you, even pay you, to enhance PocketBible for the iPad. As many have said here, PocketBible on the iPad is enough to sell a lot of people on the iPad, I think. That being said, I’m enjoying Pocket Bible on my iPod Touch very much. It’s always on me, everywhere I go. Thank you.
I know you’ve written on the flicking issue. I understand your points, and having used MyBible on several Palms for years, the paging function with a single tap (or click as it was) makes some sense. The problem is, 98% (?) of all other applications on the iPhone and iPod Touch (and iPad) use the swiping gesture—to which we’ve become accustomed. We had to retrain our brains and have, but we have to re-train our brains again to use PocketBible this way. Seems to me, the ideal, would be to take away any conscious thought needed for page turning/scrolling so one’s brain could concentrate fully on what is being read (while subconsciously scrolling the text) while we read. Hope you understand my point.
Compared to laptops and netbooks, iPad seems to offer some significant advantages:
1. Instant on – no waiting to boot up
2. One touch program launch
3. Easy application installs
4. Economical app prices, at least for now
5. More portable even if not pocket size
6. Does basically all most people use a home computer for — email, web surfing, games, and maybe one or two apps
I am excited about the future of Bible study and Bible teaching using the iPad.
Roger: It is not the case that 98% of other apps on the iPhone use the swiping gesture in situations like PocketBible is in (displaying a virtually infinite amount of text in a way that promotes reading and comprehension). In fact, it could be argued 98% of e-book texts on the iPhone are paged like PocketBible, not flicked. Again, this is what I talk about at length in my blog post on that topic.
Furthermore, your analysis of what your brain does while your fingers are busy scrolling through the text is the opposite of what the research shows. You actually comprehend less when you read the way you describe than when you read paged text. This is also discussed in my blog post.
As I said in that post, I’m very aware of the arguments for scrolling vs. paging through the text. Neither I, nor the writers of the other major e-book reader software, nor the researchers who study reading comprehension would agree that scrolling is better in this case. But I appreciate your comments.
Sounds like a fantastic Bible Study platform, although everyone will think I’m watching YouTube in church. Hopefully the screen will dim enough to be unobtrusive?
BTW, what’s wrong with split views? I haven’t dug into them yet, I just assumed they work like the splitter control on Windows, which seems perfect for showing multiple books or versions. Are there painful limitations?
Marc: UISplitView must be the root view controller in your app for some reason. A corollary is that one of the views in your split view cannot itself be a split view.
Split views can only be side-by-side (not top-and-bottom). The narrow view must be on the left. There are limitations on its width.
Split views are only split when the device is in landscape mode. When in portrait, the left view goes away and has to be displayed as a pop-over.
The system doesn’t manage (and may not even allow) the movement of the border between the two views.
So it’s nothing like a Windows splitter control. As it is, UISplitView solves some very specific problem for some very specific app and has only limited generic application. As a result IMHO it doesn’t belong in the SDK. That is, it’s fine if an app wants to implement behavior identical to UISplitView, but it’s so limited and task-specific that it’s out of place in the SDK.
Also while I’m here let me just point out to Roger and others that the iPad book reader app (“iBooks”) uses a paging interface, not scrolling.
Thanks Craig, looking forward to your Universal updates. Another reason to consider an iPad in the future.
Why don’t you make one for the Windows 7 tablets? I would use it, especially if it had side by side. I have the Amazon Kindle on mine but would like an app that would let me put in handwritten notes like Windows tables can. I have the ESV for OneNote on mine, but would like other translations.
Diana: Our current PocketBible for Windows program works great on your Windows 7 tablet. Go to http://www.laridian.com and select the “Windows-based Personal Computers” link to read more about it.
Craig,
I’ll probably be getting a iPad but until then, PocketBible for iPhone is my primary “carry” Bible. I’ll be looking forward to what you and your team can do with the expanded platform. I’m sure the larger format will be easier on the eyes.
Thanks,
Bill