Verses in BibleReader are formatted well and include links to footnotes.

Olive Tree Bible Software already has several Bible apps and bundles, including one that’s free in the App Store [links open in iTunes]. With so many offerings in the App Store, you would think iPhone development is their primary business. But you would be wrong. The Spokane, WA company has been in the Bible software business for 20 years, and they have over 280 handheld Bible resources under their belt. With the reputation they’ve earned, you know their BibleReader app for iPhone and iPod Touch is going to be good.

I had been scouring the App Store for a good Bible app since it launched. Having used BibleReader on Windows Mobile, I had hopes for seeing it in the App Store. The moment I noticed the ESV Study Bundle, I bought it. It proved to be an excellent app (better than the other Bible apps I had tried), and eventually I managed to land a beta version of their upcoming release.

While the ESV Study Bundle contains 12 Bible versions, 2 commentaries, and a cross-reference, you can get most of those from the free BibleReader app. However, the beta version I’ve received has 22 Bible versions (quality translations, such as NIV, NLT, NCV, etc), publisher notes, 28 eBooks, and the same commentaries and cross-reference as the bundle. In order to navigate through so many books, BibleReader includes three different ways of filtering them. You can view “All Books”, “Authors”, or “Categories.”

The Verse Chooser allows quick access to any verse in the Bible or commentary.

After selecting a book you’re presented with buttons for changing book and verse at the top. The verse button updates as you scroll to display the uppermost verse in your current view. Tapping the verse button brings you to a Verse Chooser that is unique to OliveTree’s BibleReader apps. If you’ve used their Windows Mobile or Palm products lately, you’ve probably seen it. It’s intuitive and works very well. When you open it up you’ll see a list of Old Testament books (in order), followed by New Testament books. After you select a book you’re presented with one button for each of the chapters in the book. Tapping a chapter produces a similar view to select the verse. This is a very quick way to access any verse in the Bible.

Scrolling through the Bible is a little choppy compared to other apps, but the tradeoff is worth it when you consider that Olive Tree has managed to include their “continuous scrolling” feature. This allows you to scroll through chapters and books continuously without switching between them. If you wanted to, you could scroll from Genesis all the way through Revelation. In addition, the display updates with the current verse as you’re scrolling. The latest word from Olive Tree indicates that the upcoming beta version will feature significantly improved scrolling performance.

BibleReader also includes smaller details such as the ability to rotate the device for landscape viewing (though the navigation bars at the top and bottom currently take up too much space for this to be useful). You are also given the ability to tweak the finer details such as font face and size, background color, text color, verse color, and footnote color.

One more feature that makes this a well-rounded app is the powerful search capability. You can perform a standard search, specifying where to search in the Bible, how to match your query, and how to display results. There is also an advanced search syntax that allows you to get very, very specific. You can match partial words and specify “ANDs”, “ORs”, or even get as detailed as to tell it how close to each other you want your search terms to be. You can also nest searches (create searches within searches). And that only scratches the surface. The bottom line is that the search capabilities of BibleReader for iPhone rival that of even desktop software.

For all its advantages, BibleReader does have one significant pitfall. It’s really no fault of theirs, though. It’s actually a restriction imposed by Apple. Olive Tree’s traditional model is to allow you to download the free BibleReader app, and then purchase additional books to load into it. The problem with the iPhone version is that Apple won’t allow developers to sell applications outside of the App Store. In addition, Apple provided no provision to integrate “modules” into existing apps, and iPhone applications are not allowed to talk to one another. This means that Olive Tree must sell each Bible and/or bundle separately in the App Store, at least for now. If you want the NIV and the NLT versions of the Bible, and Olive Tree doesn’t offer them as a pre-bundled app, you will have to purchase them both, and you’ll end up with 2 versions of BibleReader on your device. This shouldn’t be a show-stopper for casual users, but people who like to have a specific set of Bibles on their device may find this frustrating. Olive Tree says they’re in talks with Apple about this issue, so hopefully the restrictions imposed will be lifted soon.

All-in-all, BibleReader for iPhone and iPod Touch is a very well-rounded app, and the best Bible app in the App Store as far as I’m concerned. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well. Be on the lookout for the new version of BibleReader when it becomes publicly available. Until then, check out any of their existing products, as they will certainly be updated for free when the beta cycle is finished.