Poetry Poon created the original
reader in Open Source, but later took it to shareware in order
to accommodate copyrighted Bible versions. Yih-Chun became
dissatisfied with the direction the software took, so went
back to an earlier Open Source version to take the program
in a new direction. The result became the very popular Bible+,
one of the strongest offerings on the market. I tested version
2.45 with the American King James Version, the KJV with Strong’s
numbering embedded, several Greek and Hebrew versions, some
interlineal and some with Strong’s numbering embedded,
and a host of study resources, including Thayer’s Greek
Lexicon, the B_D_B Hebrew Lexicon, the 1599 Geneva Bible notes,
a verse cross-reference database, and several commentaries.
All of this was Open Source freeware!
The reader itself provides some of the
strongest features in this review for Bible study. It supports
a synchronized split screen and can display Roman, Greek,
and Hebrew fonts simultaneously in the split screens— the
only app in this review capable of multiple languages on
the same screen without using hacks. Thus you can display,
for example, the LXX and AKJV together, following the Greek
and English versions together. The same holds true for languages
like Chinese. Bible+ also supports a variety of font sizes
and spacings, which can all be different in each window,
on Palm/Sony high resolution displays, and supports 320x480
and landscape on both Palm and Sony devices. The font support
comes through the use of “skins” rather than
hacks, providing seamless compatibility with all Palm OS
versions. However, at this writing, Bible+ doesn’t
support accents, vowel pointers, etc., in the Greek/Hebrew
font displays. Databases can be stored on the card in the
/Palm/Programs/PPBL/ directory.
The large screen support makes the dual
window display truly useful. On the 320x480 T3 screen with
a normal font, Bible+ displays a full nine lines in each
window of the split screen. Smart scrolling enhances the
windowing as well. If you have a commentary in the bottom
screen that contains a long comment on a particular verse,
then paging down can be keyed to that window by tapping in
it so the entire comment may be read. You can change that
by tapping on the other window to move through the Bible
text more rapidly. You can also “pull” text through
a window by tapping and holding in the window. Double tapping
on a verse number brings up a window of cross references
if you have the cross-reference database loaded.
The top line of the display holds icons
for choosing Bible/study material versions, swapping windows,
jumping to books/verses, creating/selecting snapshots, searching,
and handling bookmarks. There is also a rich selection of
graffiti shortcuts to accomplish virtually everything.
Searching holds much in common with other
Bible apps. One can limit searches in scope— including
logical, preprogrammed groupings (tap the folder icon in
the upper right for the latter)— and language. Like
a few other apps reviewed, Bible+ searches through databases
on the card were not particularly quick even on the T3. Bible+
has the ability to search Greek and Hebrew transliteration,
but not on Strong’s numbers.
Bible+ enjoys great support from
the Open Source community, and therefore has a tremendous
number of Bible versions, study resources, and font skins
available. These include English, Greek, Hebrew, and Chinese
language versions, as well as classic commentaries and
notes. These seem to grow in number every day. If you don’t
see something you like, you can find instructions for converting
from various PC formats to Bible+ on their web site. There
are also interlinear versions and some that link through
Strong’s numbers embedded as notes strings, making
for very powerful tools. At this time, however, no copyrighted
material is supported (NIV, NKJV, etc.). Bible dictionaries
and lexicons are supported explicitly through KDIC
DA ($9), a shareware Desk Accessory. I found that it
works more elegantly with BDicty (there
is a free public version of the reader) with separate B-D-B Hebrew and
Thayers Greek lexicons.
Pros:
Free reader and LOTS of free resources--everything
is free
Mixed English/Greek/Hebrew font support through “skins”
Native Palm OS DIA support
Split-screen display available with fully synchronized windows
Snapshots to save study configurations
Cons:
Slow searching
No modern copyrighted Bible versions
External dictionary implementation
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