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YouVersion iPhone Bible
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The team behind the YouVersion bible have recently improved their free iPhone bible application to allow certain translations to be read offline. This is great news for iPod Touch users and for those times you are unable to connect to the internet. It will be interesting to see the improvements that this iPhone bible application makes over the coming year.
Translations available
If your iPhone or iPod Touch is connected to the internet then there are lots of transaltions available including:
- NIV
- ESV
- KJV
- NKJV
- NET
- WEB
- the Messsage
- Chinese, Italian French, Spanish, German, Korean and Swedish translations
- and more!
Less of these translations are available offline, but they are working on getting more available. To access the offline transaltions you need to have access to a wifi or edge network to download the initial bible text, but then it will work wherever you are. Simply go to the settings menu and choose from the following bible translations: ASV, KJV, WEB, NET RVES, ELB, DELUT, LSG, GUVS, CUV, BG1940, SV1750, FINPR, KAR, IDBAR, NORSK, AA, RMNN, KRVB 1R1927 and RURSV.
A big advantage of having translations available offline is that searching the text is much quicker. It will be great when more translations are added.
Using the bible software
You can find verses in a couple of ways with this application. Firstly you can search for a specific word (or words) and the matching verses will be shown. This feature works well and is fast.
Secondly you can search by selecting a book and then chapter. This is probably the only flaw in the layout. It doesn’t feel particularly intuitively implemented. Firstly, this option is not on the tab bar so you have to press at least two buttons to get it (sometimes more). The layout of then selecting the book just doesn’t quite work. It is not bad, but I think there must be a quicker way of navigating. I’m not sure what that layout is, maybe something like the verse selector on Bible Reader. This is far from a deal breaker, but if YouVersion could crack this they would have a very user friendly iPhone bible.
There are no more powerful options such as bookmarking or note-taking available yet. Based on the online version of YouVersion this feature may be coming in a future release. If this could be synchronized with the online YouVersion you would suddenly have a very powerful multi-platform bible study package.
How does it look?
The presentation is very good and the text is easy to read. The images shown in this review are with small text but there are options for larger text or for a screen display which is easier to read in the dark.
There is nothing ground breaking in the design, but it fits the iPhone layout perfectly, and the simple design makes it easy to focus on the text you are reading. This is a good example of “less is more” in design.
Read the bible in one year!
A superb addition is the option of a daily bible reading plan (based on Robert Roberts daily reading plan). 3 sections of the bible are included each day, and you simply click on the verses shown to read them. This is a very well implemented feature which fits well with the way many people may read the bible on an iPhone.
Other features…
Other features include the ability to email verses by double clicking or holding down on a verse. This could be useful either to send yourself a note about what you are reading, or send an email to friend (which is its main intended use). This function does work when you are offline, as it saves any unsent messages and sends them when you are back in range. The verse itself is not shown - but it includes a link to the normal YouVersion website.
There is also a contributions tab, where recent contributions from YouVersion users are included. I did not find this amazingly useful as the contributions are very random and you can’t search for notes on a verse. I expect this functionality will be added in future versions.
Tags: bible, bible study, christian, ESV, free, iphone, NIV, resources, youversion
Related posts on this site:
YouVersion is continuing to add more improvements to their bible study tool. It is still in the BETA stage but is becoming more and more functional and powerful. Perhaps the most important change is the addition of the NIV translation. This is so widely used I think it is important for any bible tool to have this included.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Tags: bible, bible study, christian, free, resources, youversion Related posts on this site:
With the new year now well under way it is time to present the awards for the best free Christian resource websites for 2007. The number of awards have been limited to four, meaning many high quality Christian websites that would be worthy winners have not been mentioned. However, it is so exciting to write this blog and see so many superb Christian resources available on the internet. It is cheesy and Oscar-like to say it, but without them this website would not exist!
So without further ado, and with a drum roll in the background lets see who has won…
Best free Christian website : Desiring God
This award is for the website that has made the top contribution to free Christian resources in the year. The size of backing is taken into account, so if a small one-person website is punching above its weight it could well win!
Desiring God is the proud winner of the prestigious ‘Best free Christian website’ award from free Christian resources this year. Desiring God is an example to everyone in the distribution of Christian resources. Firstly all of John Pipers sermons and books from the last twenty five are available online free. Desiring God is presented superbly with most content available in in several different formats within a well structured website.
They are also very clear about why they feel content should be provided free when possible. This also makes them worthy winners of the main award as they are 100% committed to providing high quality free Christian resources. The main reasons they give are:
- It demonstrates God’s grace
- It serves others most effectively
- Far more of your content will spread, and it will spread to far more people
Top newcomer : YouVersion
This award goes to a Christian website that has only begun in the year - or only really started to make a big impression in the year.
Whilst YouVersion is still in its Beta stage it is well advanced and is rapidly improving each month. YouVersion is a bible study package that allows videos, sermons, pictures and basically anything to be linked to bible verses and studies.
Before it gets even close to its full potential it will need both time and further tweaking. However I think the opportunity for YouVersion is huge. It will be exciting to see how this project grows in 2008.
Special contribution : All About God
This award goes to a Christian website that has made a particularly good contribution to the Christian community. It could be anything from a well written blog to a website stuffed full of sermons!
All About God is an apologetics website, so it aims to answer any questions about Christianity. It does this is a clear and understandable way, and often a good first port of call whenever you have a query. However, the award has been given to All About God because of the way they keep the focus on Jesus. It is easy as Christians on the internet to forget that many non Christians will look at our websites. All About God give a great example of how to keep the gospel prominent on any website. This is certainly an area I’ll be looking to develop on free Christian resources in 2008.
Most popular : iBibleSpace
This award is for the website that has been the most popular amongst the readers of free Christian resources. It has been awarded based on the website that most people had clicked through to visit from this blog.
The clear winner was the iBibleSpace by AcroDesign Technologies, with 6% of all website visits from free Christian resources having gone to their website. This was no doubt in part due to the popularity of the best free iPhone bible post that I wrote. However,
iBibleSpace is a worthy winner having brought the bible to the iPhone in such a superb fashion. All iPhone users should check out their website!
Tags: all-about-God, best, christian, desiring-God, free, general, iBibleSpace, resources, youversion Related posts on this site:
Three months after the launch of free Christian resources I began to put a lot of effort into finding and tweaking the theme/design that I wanted. Finally, as the year almost closes I think I am generally happy with the look of the website! There were so many superb websites reviewed over the three months ending in September, but here are the pick of the posts:
Desiring God
Desiring God is without a doubt one of the finest Christian websites on the internet. John Piper has put all of his sermons and books from the last twenty five years online for free. Not only that but they are high quality products, and the website is superbly designed.
Free Hillsong mp3
Throughout the course of the year many fantastic free and legal songs have been recommended. This is up there as one of the best.
My first sermon
I had the nerve-racking experience of doing my first sermon in August. In this post I explained the free things that I found the most useful to help me prepare.
YouVerison launches
Whilst YouVersion is still in beta stage it has come a long way and is in a usable format. It is an exciting website, and I expect in 2008 it will really become both popular and useful.
Tags: christian, desiring-God, free, general, hillsong, resources, sermon, youversion Related posts on this site:YouVersion continue to make more improvements to their bible study tool with the latest Beta. You can find out more about YouVersion on my first post about it. As well as some bug fixes the update includes:
- Vimeo video support
You can now contribute any of your videos from your Vimeo account. - Edit/Delete
Oh no I made a mistake! Previously this would be a mistake for ever, but now you can Edit your text and link contributions or even delete anything you contributed if you have a change of heart. - New Dashboard and sign up pages.
There are some other changes as well apparently. It is great to see YouVersion making regular improvements to their system. There is no doubt it stands a good chance of becoming a superb bible study tool. In the coming weeks more bible translations will be added, this will help make YouVersion of use to many more people.
Tags: bible, bible study, christian, free, general, resources, youversion Related posts on this site:YouVersion continue to improve their bible study tool with the latest Beta showing some big steps forward. You can find out more about YouVersion on my first post about it. As well as some bug fixes the update includes:
- Dashboard
This allows you to quickly view new contributions and new users. - Flickr support
This allows you to contribute any images located in your Flickr account, which should make the whole process a lot more user friendly. - Content rankings
Every piece of content can now be voted for. This is vital as the volume of entries would otherwise be overwhelming and make it difficult to find the really good and useful resources. - 1 year Bible reading plan
They plan to add Bible reading plans in the future.
YouVersion is still in the Beta stage so they are keen or people to try it out and test it, but there is no doubt it is developing well at the moment.
Tags: bible study, christian, free, resources, youversion Related posts on this site:Christianity.com has just released the beta version of their new bible study software, and are confident it is a groundbreaking program. Some of the key aspects of the website are multiple bible translations, personal notes, highlighting verses, and additional commentaries and so on.
Looking around the website it has some real similarities with YouVersion, which is also in a Beta stage. The main advantage Christianity.com seems to have is the volume of bible translations. With 29 available (if you log in) it is very likely it will have the translations you prefer to study with.
Whereas YouVersion is much more open in the content it will hold (you can submit your own sermons, and comments) it looks as though Christianity.com will be much more tightly controlled. Whether or not this is good will no doubt depend on both what you would prefer, and just how well YouVersion manages to achieve its goals.
I found it a little slow to use, but my broadband is a bit like a snail at the moment so it may have just been me! It was easy to navigate the various options and to sign up for an account. They are interested in people testing it whilst it is in the beta stage to find any mistakes, so if you want to help then sign up now.
Whether or not the new Christianity.com bible study tool is groundbreaking is open to debate. However I have no doubt that once it is out of the beta stage it will help many Christians in their walk with God. When the tool is fully running I will provide a more detailed review.
Here is the full text of the press release:
This past week, we have taken the private beta version of our new Bible Study tools live on Christianity.com. at http://bible.christianity.com. Bible Study Tools is a groundbreaking new interactive way of studying the Bible online. We invite you to explore fearlessly! Kick the tires – dive in and take a look around! And let us know what you think.
Here’s what you can do with Bible Study Tools:
* Highlight your favorite Bible verses
* Take and save personal “margin” notes about your Bible study journey
* Explore 29 different Bible translations and compare them side by side with our split panel screen
* Search a comprehensive library of additional study helps and resources including commentaries, dictionaries, lexicons, concordances, reading plans, and more
* Read devotionals from your favorite pastors and authors including Chuck Swindoll, Max Lucado, Charles Stanley, John Piper, and more
If Bible study has been overwhelming for you…
If you want to bring new life to your Bible study…
If you couldn’t afford to buy all those study guides you wanted…
If you want Bible study resources you can really trust from respected national pastors and theologians…
If you are looking for a FREE resource to help you dig deeper in the Word…
Then Bible Study Tools is for YOU!
Learn how God’s timeless truths apply to your life today and discover a deeper personal relationship with Him at http://bible.christianity.com
We are praying that you will continue to grow profoundly in the knowledge and understanding of Christ.
God bless you richly-
The Christianity.com Team
Tags: bible study, christian, christianity.com, free, resources, youversion Related posts on this site:Just two days after my last update on YouVersion, the Beta version has now launched! Now everyone can start using YouVersion, you can find out more about YouVersion on my first post about it.
In their launch email they summarise the main things you can do with YouVersion as follows:
* Search for scripture or scroll through our Bible Reader
* Star verses and content
* Tag verses and content
* Contribute images, videos, links, and text to passages
* Start journaling with the Journal tool
* See what others are sharing
* Email items to your friends and family
* Rate content
* And so much more…
Tags: bible study, christian, free, online, resources, youversion Related posts on this site:I recently discussed a new online bible website called YouVersion that was about to be launched. It is still in the beta stage, but last week I was given access to look at YouVersion as part of their latest group of testers. Here is a summary of how it is looking:
The first use of YouVersion is that you can view different translations of the bible, make notes, bookmark passages, tag passages with words and so on. On the picture on the right you can see a tagged verse and a starred verse. You can then easily search these at a later date. Where YouVersion goes beyond normal bible study packages is that these tags could then be shared with other users.
YouVersion also allows for a variety of different types content to be linked or added to specific verses or books in the bible. This can include study notes, sermons, videos, pictures, commentaries, links to websites and so on! Videos are embedded into the YouVersion page so you can view them without having to leave the website. This is where I expect the real power of YouVersion will lie.
YouVersion is looking really good and easy to use. Searching the verses was slightly slow, but I expect this is just a beta issue. Once it is launched and the best websites start having their content included YouVersion could well become an exceptionally useful product.
Links
Website: http://www.youversion.com/
Tags: bible, bible study, christian, ESV, free, resources, youtube, youversion Related posts on this site:There is an exciting new project being designed at the moment for bible study called YouVersion.
The first premise of YouVersion is that you can view different translations of the bible, make notes, bookmark passages and so on. Nothing too exciting there, you can do that with some bibles and a notepad! However, you can also add pictures, sermons, songs and YouTube videos and tag them on to specific verses.
Each of these factors still may not be ground breaking enough to get you out of bed though. What makes You Version look like it will shine is that it operates in much the same way as many social bookmarking sites. You will also be able to view other peoples thoughts and suggestions - or at least those you wish to. All of these features are better explained in the guide on the You Version website. You can also
read a small review for YouVersion at Chad Wright’s blog.
So is YouVersion the future of online bible study? I honestly couldn’t tell you! Invites to join are not very forthcoming at the moment as they are in the testing phase. However, the early signs look really good. I’ll let you know when/if I am invited to join and give an update on how it works. You can ask for an invite too by giving them your email address (there is an option on their home page).
Links
Website: http://www.youversion.com/
Tags: bible, bible study, free, resources, youtube, youversion Related posts on this site:
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