iphone_deviceI’ve had PDA’s since the very first 500k US Robotics “Pilot”…even before the became “Palm Pilots”.  One of the first applications I look for on a PDA is a nice Bible program.  Depending on the platform I was on, I usually ended up using BibleReader from OliveTree or MyBible from Laridian.  For the iPhone though, there is really no contest.  BibleReader is the only way to go.

BibleReader is a free download from the iTunes store, or you can purchase it with a favorite translation.  The free version comes with two of the free translations.  It has several Bibles available for free on their web site (over 25)…along with a huge library of devotionals, commentaries, cross-references, Christian e-books, and so forth.  Other translations and books come at a cost, usually in the $15-$25 range depending on the size and liscensing involved.  Once purchased online, the iPhone app “syncs” with your purchased library and downloads the purchased books (or any of the 80+ free ones) directly to your device.  OliveTree has over 250 total iPhone resources available.  No monthly subscriptions.  No need to find a wi-fi or 3G signal in your church.  It’s all on the handheld once it is downloaded.  And navigation could not be simpler.  Tap “verse”, the book, the chapter, and the verse.  Four taps and you are there.

BibleReader has bookmarks, word search, and a history pane of what all verses you’ve visited in which translations.  Future versions will include verse highlighting and personal notes.  The most recent version added the ability to open two books in a split screen.  For example, you can have the ESV Study Bible in one pane, while the other holds the NASB with Strong’s numbers and popups to the Hebrew and Greek words and their definitions.  In other words, the study notes are not tied to the translation it came with.  Here is a short video that gives you a little flavor of what I’m talking about with study notes and split screen.  In case you haven’t guessed yet, this one makes my Must Have list.