BibleThumper has been around
for quite a while. Pat’s business model involves registering
the reader, but then all the databases are free. The databases
use an XML basis for conversion, and Pat has converted some
of the best classic Christian works. This has to be a labor
of love, because he isn’t charging for them. I tested
the KJV ($25), Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, Easton’s
1897 Bible Dictionary, Strong’s Greek/Hebrew dictionary,
and all the commentaries in that subject illustration below.
BibleThumper doesn’t support the
Palm DIA natively, but works quite well throughout with CodeDiver1.1B6
on my T3. The tools across the top bar provide access to
searching, bookmarking, notes, changing books and chapters,
next/previous find, and forward/back buttons. When in another
part of the program like search or a reference, there is
always an icon that will bring the user back to the Bible
text. The little page icons after the verse numbers indicate
the presence of notes or references for those verses. More
on that below. BT uses a non-standard implementation to change
books. Tapping on the app tab brings up the book selection
display, whereas in standard Palm OS design it should bring
up the menu. That takes a little getting used to.
The real strength of BibleThumper lies
in how it implements references. Tapping on the page icons
next to applicable verses brings up the last used reference
with the comments on the current verse selected. The reference
comes up to occupy the entire screen. Once in a reference,
other references can be selected through a pull-down menu,
shown to the right. Very slick operation.
BibleThumper’s basic word study support
showed the rest how to do it. Tapping on a word brings up
a dialog offering a dictionary or lexicon lookup as well
as a search. The 1828 Webster’s comes from an era when
Christian theology was part of every day life in America.
Words now only found in Bible dictionaries were in ordinary
use then. The lexicon comes from Strong’s Greek and
Hebrew Exhaustive Concordance. Tapping on the Bible icon
takes you back to the Bible display. This implementation
provides the maximum ease in using multiple references and
is well executed, but not without cost. Even on the T3, loading
references off the card can takes a few seconds, though loading
is progressive and you can read the beginning while the rest
of an article loads. The user doesn’t see any real
hold up in the display unless the Bible itself is on the
card.
BT’s search routine isn’t the
strongest in the pack. Searches can be specified in content,
as well as parts, all, or exact phrases. Searching with the
database on the card proved somewhat slow, especially since
the search scope cannot be limited to particular books or
collection of books. Although BT makes good use of the Strong’s
material, you cannot search on Strong’s numbers.
Pat Double distributes BibleThumper as
shareware with a 30-day trial period. All the references
are free, and there are a good selection of references available.
Other than the dictionaries, all the references are classic
commentaries. John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible,
the JFB Commentary, and the 1599 Geneva Bible notes are particularly
good. In addition to English works, Luther’s German
Bible and several German references are available. However,
BT only uses the KJV for its English Bible, and that isn’t
open to negotiation.
Pros:
Nice implementation of commentaries
and dictionaries
All resource databases are free
Easy navigation throughout
Cons:
KJV only
Slow reading off the card
Limited search options |
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