Monday, August 13, 2007

Biblical Language Tools on a PDA

There are a number of resources for doing biblical work on a PDA.
  • e-Sword (for Windows) also has a nice Pocket e-Sword version. The program is free, and you can buy such Bible versions as HCSB, Message, NASB, NKJV, and NLT, but you can also get such free versions as ASV, CEV, ESV, Good News, KJV, and more. You can also get a Greek NT, the LXX (free!), and the Vulgate as well as many other language versions. There are also commentaries and dictionaries to buy or for free.
  • In addition to Pocket e-Sword, I also use OliveTree BibleReader software on my Windows Mobile device. (A Dell Axim x51v, now sadly no longer in production.) The software is free, and it is available for a wide variety of devices including WinMobile, Palm, and phones. There is a wide selection of Bibles in original, English, and over 80 foreign languages. OliveTree has been very good about updating the software, and I started using it, because for a long time they were the only one to offer the NRSV. They do have free Greek NTs, but I bought and like the GRAMCORD Lite Greek NT. I also bought the Hebrew Masoretic text, and both the Greek and Hebrew are well implemented. BibleReader has become a platform for an incredible number of Bible study tools: dictionaries, handbooks, lexicons, commentaries, atlases, and other books. Be sure to check out the discounts for buying collections.
  • Laridian and their PocketBible3 is another major player in this market and offers software and Bibles for a similarly wide variety of portable platforms. I have not used it, but it is similar to OliveTree in its kind of offerings.
  • In a post on the BibleWorks Forum, I suggest another way of getting Bible software on a PDA. I really like using LogMeIn for a number of reasons (especially for remote control to troubleshoot problems on computers for others in my extended family), but it actually does allow me to run BibleWorks or Logos right on my PDA.
  • The post mentioned in the previous bullet also generated a link to the free PocketScholar for Windows Mobile devices. (There is also an inexpensive "MiniFlash for PalmOS Devices.") It is basically a Greek/Hebrew vocabulary building program, but it works well.



3 comments:

  1. Don't forget Palm Bible+! (Palm OS only.) This is a fantastic program--completely free, and users can convert BibleWorks texts into Palm Bible+ texts with relative ease. I've used this program for years. It has basically replaced my paper Bible! Did I mention it's free?

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  2. Thanks for the link, Jim. It looks like there are quite a few Bibles and resources available. And did you mention that it is free?

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  3. Thanks for this PDA resources post. I've checked out several of the items.

    First - is there anything that can convert BW texts to PPC format? That would be cool.

    Second - I took Mechon-Mamre's Hebrew-English parallel for a spin yesterday. It's great. Not perfect, a few font quirks. But its great for flat-out reading, which I did a bunch of last night. It plays to a diglot's strengths.

    [url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/ppcmtr.htm]Hebrew-English PPC Bible[/url]

    SCSaunders

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