So, you got yourself a Kindle, and you are looking for some biblical stuff to put on it. (And the cheaper, the better...) Remember that these are not Bible software programs but just have the text. I'm also only considering biblical texts and not books or commentaries about the Bible. There are some odd-looking, privately-published texts available, and I'm not sure how Kindle-friendly each of these is, but here are some good options to consider to get started:
English
Greek
Hebrew
Latin
Logos has announced the release of a beta version of its Bible software for Android devices. For those who already have Logos software and an Android device this is welcome news, because it starts to provide access to one's library of resources on these mobile devices. This is indeed only a beta release with limited functionality, but improvements are promised that will bring its functionality in line with other existing Android Bible software. The current version offers the following:
- Access to your Logos library (where licenses permit)
- Online access to streaming books
- Offline access to downloaded books
- Footnotes
- Preview Bible references
- History
- Navigate by
- Position syncs with Logos 4
I've used it a bit, and here are some observations I can make for now:
- It is great to have access to my Logos library with original language texts and also resources like BDAG, the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, Apostolic Fathers (English and Greek), IVP Dictionary collection, Exegetical Dictionary of the NT, the ABS Handbook series, etc... I have been using Logos' online Biblia.com/ which provides similar access to my books, but it's not the best for viewing on my Droid X browser. How fast resources appear depends on your connection, but with Logos for Android (LfA), I can choose to download some books for faster and for offline access. Graphical items (maps, charts) do appear, but they are not resizable.
- The fonts look great--Greek, Hebrew, Syriac...--but my Hebrew is not displaying correctly in texts like the BHS. For now, it is not possible to specify font sizes.
- One really can't designate any preferences, and there is limited functionality with original language texts. That is, there is no way to get morphological or lexical information. (Though some texts like Runge's Lexham Discourse Greek NT and Holmes' Apostolic Fathers displays in interlinear fashion with analysis and lemma and gloss.) One can't specify a preferred English Bible.
- It is nice how footnotes and references in a text can be tapped and have a popup appear. One can then jump to that reference with another tap. This includes popups and jumps to texts in the Pseudepigrapha or Josephus. Unfortunately, it does not yet include links to the apparatus of the critical edition of NA27. The SBL Greek NT is linked to the apparatus, but it replaces the text window.
- LfA works fine in portrait or landscape mode. To scroll through you library, you go up/down, but, oddly, you can only scroll text by sliding sideways, not up/down.
In any case, this is a good start, and I look forward to implementation of more functions.
