We just got an email from Apple saying PocketBible for iPhone/iPad is approved for the App Store. It could take 24 hours for it to become visible to you. The rest of this posting is a repeat of the announcement we made when we uploaded this new version.
Features are described here.
Video preview here: www.youtube.com/user/laridianinc.
This version adds new features to the iPhone/iPod touch and has native support for the iPad. Current users of PocketBible will see this new version as an update in the App Store app just like any other update.
If you have notes, bookmarks, etc. in MyBible for Palm OS, PocketBible for Windows Mobile, PocketBible for Windows, or iPocketBible.com you’ll be able to move these notes to your iPhone or iPad with this new version. If you have Palm OS or Windows Mobile you first need to synchronize this data with PocketBible for Windows (desktop). Then synchronize from there to iPocketBible.com. Details are here. PocketBible for iPhone/iPad syncs with iPocketBible.com so you need to get your data there to start with, then when you sync with PocketBible for iPhone/iPad it will get your notes, bookmarks, etc. from your other device(s).
Search results are displayed in the Toolbox at the bottom of the screen. Your entire library is searched, usually in a fraction of a second. Library results are on the left; results for the selected book are in the list on the right. |
Split the screen into as many as five panes (three shown here) to reference commentaries and other reference books. |
Here I’ve changed the font and expanded the Toolbox to give me more room to type my notes. The notes viewer supports HTML so I can create this outline using nested ordered lists. Bible text can be pasted in HTML. Here I’ve made verse numbers bold and made the text small. Any unambiguous references (such as “Col 1:3-8″ at the top) are automatically linked. |
When the iPad is rotated, the Toolbox moves to the side (either right or left). |
The new calculator-style verse selection method is shown here. Select the book from a drop-down list, then key in the chapter and verse on the keypad. |
The Bk/Ch/Vs (“3-tap”) verse selector sports larger buttons on the iPad and is ten buttons wide to make it easier to find chapter and verse numbers. |
PocketBible is great for daily devotional reading. Here Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening is shown on the left and the Bible on the right. The Reading Progress window show what you’ve already read (in green) and what you need to read (in red). I’ve hidden the Toolbox to maximize space for reading the text. |
Just installed the new version on my iPhone. Love it!
Great news…. looks great.
But I tried to sync my iPhone and iPad with server and I get a
“PocketBible Alert, error opening connection to serve” message. I have restarted both and tried again but same message. What am I doing wrong. (I live in the UK)
Hi there, great news and it looks and works brilliantly!
One problem, when I try to ‘sync my data’ I get and error connecting to server message. This didn’t happen the first time and my notes are safely on my Windows version of pocketbible for the first time.
Have we all broken the server in our excitement and rush to use the system?
FYI I get the same error on both pc and iPhone.
God bless and thanks,
Robin
Erik: You can change the verse selection method in Settings. I think it’s under Program Settings.
Tony and Robin: I’m getting the same error when I try to connect to the server. At first glance everything appears to be fine on the server. I’ll have to dig in a little deeper.
OK the server problem should be fixed. There were some abandoned sessions that were still connected. The server is supposed to disconnect them after two minutes but it didn’t. As a result, the maximum number of connections was being made and nobody else could get in.
Woo-hoo! It is awesome. This is the best app for my iPad! Really!
All of my bookmarks, highlights and notes synced right over. My 6 year old notebook has finally been laid to rest.
Just tried to update on my iPhone. Seemed to go ok until I got a message to say that the version of ESV Study Bible I have can cause problems. I went to update it but the app froze during this process. Now if I try to access Pocket Bible I see the welcome screen briefly then it crashes out. Any suggestions for how to fix this?
Robert: You need to contact tech support at support@lairdian.com
Hi Guys,
Thanks for looking into the sync crashing issue. I am now able to sync AND backup my data from my iPhone. What’s the difference between the two?
There is joy in Mudville!
This looks awesome on an iPad! Great job to everyone who worked on it. I enjoy reading on my iPad in landscape mode, especially when working out. Is there a way for the toolbox to be hidden in landscape mode like it can be in portrait mode?
Thanks again for another great product.
Just wanted to add my jubilation-filled thanks for the update. I’m ecstatic and can now stop checking for app updates every hour on the hour. I saw a little “2″ beside the updates button last night and wondered, “Could this be it?” It was – so glad to have my bookmarks and notes now on my iPad version of PocketBible. Thanks so much, Craig, looking forward to more exploration of the new program.
We rejoice, we rejoice, in the name of the Lord.
Awesome job with the iPad application, Craig! I was able to synchronize my notes with PocketBible for Windows and PocketBible on my iPad using the iPocketBible server. I do have a custom commentary on my Windows system and did not see an obvious way to get that from my PC onto my iPad. Do you guys have a mechanism in place for that? If so, what is it? If not, do you plan to in the future? I love the ability to synchronize my notes, and I would REALLY love to be able to get custom books/commentaries on my iPad as well!
Loaded on my Ipad last night. All I can say is that it is stunning and incredible.
Love the new iPad app. It has immediately become my favorite Bible app on the iPad.
I have found the ISBE to be helpful. Any chance it will be made available?
Paul: for the difference between sync and backup, read the appropriate sections in the extensive Help document.
Scott: The reason the toolbox exists at all is to take up the extra space you get in landscape mode when you rotate the text without changing the width. The reason we don’t change the width is to minimize the redrawing time during rotation. If the width changes, we have to throw away and re-render all the text. So it’s unlikely we’ll allow you to hide it in landscape orientation.
Tim: if you have BookBuilder Pro you can get your custom books on your iPhone/iPad. See http://www.laridian.com/publish for details.
Thanks for the hard work guys. I’m really looking forward to nosing around it. It looks excellent.
This version has really spoiled me. I hate to ask, but I will. Do you sell a commentary that uses the same buttons as the bibles do for navigation?
Thanks, guys. Great update, especially the ability to backup personalised notes!!
Randall:
Commentaries are not always organized in a way that allows us to navigate them using the same go-to-verse dialog we use for Bibles. However, if you have both a Bible and a commentary open, and if you turn on synchronization in the Settings menu, then when you use the go-to feature to go to a verse in the Bible, the commentary will follow along and you’ll end up in the same place.
Thanks guys for updating PocketBible with Sync functions for multi platform. It’s the thing I’ve been waiting for since I started using the iPhone 6 months ago.
It’ a really joy to be a Laridian customer.God bless!