Please note the date on this post. Read our more recent posts on the iPhone for more up-to-date information.
We’ve been watching the announcement of the iPhone with some interest here. While we like new shiny things we’re less than thrilled about the proliferation of smart phone operating systems. On the one hand the iPhone looks cool; on the other it’s just one more OS to support (or not support, depending on how many people buy the things).
We’re interested in your feedback… Do you think the iPhone looks like your next phone? If so, why? If not, why not?
I have been looking into the iPhone and would certainly want the Laridian Bible software running there similar to what is available for the WM2003 phone I’ve been using for two years. The limitation from Apple to restrict the 3rd party software would mean for me that I would continue to use my WM2003 phone as a Bible and the iPhone as a phone, portable internet browser, etc. The ability to keep my digital information between my current mac laptop and my phone is too painful and the reliability of the WM2003 device as a phone is lousy (needs to be rebooted about once a week and I don’t find out until I try to answer a call and cannot pick it up!).
I’m switching to an iPhone and I would love to take my Laridian tools with me… but it won’t stop me if they have to stay back on WM2003.
I plan on going to the IPhone eventually because I have been a Mac user since ’87. I am tired of my Treo freezing, asking if I want to go to the internet, and generally just messing up that wastes my time. I have been impressed with Mac’s reliability and would like to see the same compliment of Bible versions, commentaries, lexicons, and dictionaries that I have purschased from you in the past. Please make them available.
I DO NOT plan on using iPhone – I’m not switching my wireless provider in order to use iPhone.
Also, the extra costs associated with using the iPhone to full capacity is not worth the price.
I Do like the look and functions of the iPhone – but the costs are way out of line. I’ll wait until my provider can use it and the price comes way down.
I love the Laridian products on my iPAQ I have used them for at least five years. I’m currently using Windows Mobile 2003 on an iPAQ 2700 series. I have resisted going to a totally integrated phone PDA device but I’m really interested in the iPhone. I do hope that Apple will open up the device and you will produce the my Bible product for the iPhone.
As the owner of a 2 year old Treo 650 (Cingular), I’m looking to upgrade. I will buy an iPhone the minute there is bible software available. I’ve gotten too used to having my Bible with me all the time and could not go back to a phone that didn’t have it. I just hope my treo last long enough for them to open up iphone and for laridian to port the mybible software.
Well. in my humble opinion, Laridian better be working on an iphone version. Apple is going to capture a big market share with this phone. You always follow your market, right?
There are two problems: 1) We can’t work on an iPhone version if Apple doesn’t open the phone up to developers, and 2) it’s not a foregone conclusion that they’ll capture a big market share. Last I heard the phone was going to be $600 plus a 2-year contract, more if you don’t have a contract or recently upgraded your phone. And of course it’s only available through one carrier.
Please please please aggresively pursue porting your software to iphone. I love it on my Pocket PC. I read somewhere that apple will “open” up the operating system to programmers as long as they(apple) still maintain distribution rights. Would you ever consider that? Is it profitable?
We’re open to any platform at all. We’re concerned that Apple is doing everything it can to limit the distribution of the phone. First, they’re only working with one carrier, and it’s not the biggest one. Second, they’ve set the price very high.
On top of this they’re putting road-blocks in the way of developers. It’s not clear yet if it will be open and if it is, how much it will cost. It wouldn’t be surprising if they demanded a very large fee in order to develop for the phone and then they still might reserve the right to reject your app, after it’s developed, for no reason. There are platforms that work that way.
We’re not ruling anything out at this point. We’re just interested in how people are responding to this new phone.
Craig
I am a long-time Laridian customer starting out in the palm 3 days and moving over to the IPAQ’s . The iPhone will be a big hit. I would consider moving over but Pocket Bible would be a major factor. The iPhone will have substitute programs for most of my pda apps (Pocket informant etc.) but there is nothing for those of us who love having God’s Word and basic research abilities at our fingertips. The iPhone market will be profitable for Laridian and a blessing to PB users. I hope you will consider doing what it takes to make you products available on that platform. As the release date gets closer, I see demand build rather than slacking. When first announced, I was disinterested now I’ll get one–I’ll be first in line if Bible software becomes available for iPhone. What a blessing not to have two lumps and an easy to use and relatively high resolution screen.
I love My Bible, I love Apple products, and I love have the Word by my side at all times…I use it all the time. But if I can’t get My Bible on an iPhone I won’t buy an iPhone even though they are super cool. I’ve been milking my two Kyocera 7135′s for many years…I like the simple things like the LCD at the top of the phone without having to open the phone to know what time it is or who is calling, and the flipping action that protects the screen. I’m thinking that a new palm treo will have to do if Kyocera’s finally die, but I’m not trilled with it at all! If Apple would let you make My Bible for the iPhone you would sell tons of them…I’d be first in line!!!
Thanks for all you do.
“A person briefed on Apple’s plans said that at its software developer conference this month, Apple intends to announce that it will make it possible for developers of small programs written for the Macintosh to easily convert them to run on the iPhone.”
http://www.macrumors.com/2007/06/04/iphone-developers-kit-at-wwdc/
WWDC is next week.
Craig, what do you think of Job’s most recent announcement?
http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/06/04/iphoneapps/index.php
Will Laridian now be developing for the iPhone?
Absolutely love PocketBible, been using it since the “Servant Scripture” days on Palm. For me it’s become one of the key requirements for a new phone. However, I’ve been looking around and iPhone looks very much like the favourite – except for the Bible requirement (so far)!
I really hope Jobs et al let you port, and that you see a market for the idea.
Otherwise I’ll have to go with the HTC Touch (or similar) effort at the gesture-based stuff – welcome though piecemeal so far as I can see.
Either way, keep up the awesome work!
The recent announcements are encouraging, but it appears they’re talking about enabling Mac “widgets” to run on the device. They have limited functionality and may be limited as to what features of the phone they can access. So we’re not out of the woods yet.
This whole concern about protecting the phone from misbehaving apps is a waste of time. Every phone I’ve had in the last ten years has crashed from time to time with or without third-party apps installed. It’s wrong-headed to think that the built-in software is somehow flawless but software developed by equally talented programmers who happen to work for a different company is full of bugs just waiting to take down the system.
The other misplaced fear is the misbehaved app that will somehow take down Cingular’s entire network from your little phone. It seems like it wouldn’t take much to prevent that unlikely scenario.
We continue to watch.
Craig,
I’ve been an MyBible user for a while.
Today Apple announced that the iPhone will support, in their words, “Third-Party Web 2.0 Applications”. Not sure what that means for you or others who write Bible software for phones. Details:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/06/11iphone.html
As for the iPod product, it would be nice to have the KJV text and exander Scourby’s reading of it done in the same way as the NLT.
Since this thread still seems live, I’ll chime in that I’m very much interested in the iPhone, and MyBible is a must-have for me on whatever platform I’m using. I hope you can have a definite answer soon; I’ve got a phone upgrade burning a hole in my pocket and I’d love to use it on an iPhone.
Hi there
I’m also curious about the “Third party Web 2.0 applications.” Is this something you would be able to use? Could’nt the web browser be used as the “reader” and the different versions of the Bible you sell be HTML pages?
The only thing that is holding me back from buying an iPhone is pocketbible. If I can’t get that I am sticking with what I’ve got for awhile.
Chiming in with Marc T, I also wonder what can be done with what has now been revealed at WWDC.
Firstly for the Web 2.0 coding I’m guessing one would want to have a HTML 2.0 front end but build pages from a database backend. This starts to feel likely to represent a substantial rewrite rather than just a port of PocketBible. Am I right Craig? I wonder what the appetite for this would be at Laridian…
Secondly I note that a new (Leopard) widget developer tool is available in Beta – Dashcode. This supports html, css and javascript… Perhaps if it were possible to port the PocketBible engine (if not the UI) to Javascript this would signal the beginning of the end of the platform proliferation worries??? I don’t know, just wondering / musing here.
Thoughts Craig?
Thanks,
Matt