A review written by Rub�n G�mez, Bible software translator and beta tester. Copyright � 2004-2009 by the author. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce any part of this document without obtaining permission from the author.This review has been updated.
Introduction
GMPSoft has entered the Bible software scene with a complete set of study tools for users of handhelds (both Palm and Pocket PC), and the stated purpose of focusing on "achieving high speed in its applications by working out solutions for large-database induced problems with the PDA devices." [1]
The line of products includes Bible With You (the Bible reader properly said, currently at version 6), with a number of plug-ins: Bible Commentaries With You, Bible Explorer With You, 1000 Bible Images With You, Bible Notes With You, Bible Cross References, Bible Strong�s Numbers, and Greek/Hebrew Dictionaries, as well as Bible Concordance With You (the search engine, currently at version 5).
For this review I used the following modules: Bible With You (KJV with Strong's numbers), Bible With You (KJV), Bible Bundle (NASB) � which includes Bible With You (NASB with Strong's numbers), Bible With You (NASB), Bible Concordance With You (NASB), Bible Cross References (NASB), and NAS Exhaustive Hebrew/Greek Lexicon), Bible With You (Spanish LBLA), Bible With You (GNT, also known as TEV), Bible Cross References (GNT), Bible With You (GreekNT), Bible Explorer With You, 1000 Bible Images With You, Bible Commentaries With You (TSK), Torrey's New Topical Textbook, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Webster Dictionary With You (1913Abr), and Easton's Dictionary With You. This whole set-up retails at $158.70, but there is an interesting promotions program that can modify the final price.
For maximum performance, I decided to install the programs in RAM, and all the modules on flash memory (using 36.73 MB of the available memory). Naturally, one can install on an expansion card if hard-pressed for space. [2]
Licensing Policy
The Bible reader, Bible With You, is free when used with some public domain Bible versions (KJV, ASV, or WEB, among others). This means that one can read any of those Bibles with a free limited license. "Limited" refers to the fact that only one Bible can be used at a time, and that the database cannot be used in another product (like Bible Concordance With You).
Bible With You and Bible Concordance With You require separate licenses. However, you only have to pay once for the databases. So, if you have, say, a copy of NASB with Bible With You, and have already paid for Bible Concordance With You for another Bible version, you may download Bible Concordance With You (NASB) without making any further payment. [3]
General Features
Pocket PCs have a limited amount of space and horsepower, and what we have come to expect from Bible programs for desktop systems cannot always be implemented in one of these devices. Anything that goes beyond reading, cross-referencing, and basic search functions should probably be considered "bells and whistles." Well, not quite, but you get the idea. Anyway, the truth is that this set of programs from GMPSoft went considerably beyond my expectations.
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In Bible With You, notes appear as numbers in square brackets (e.g., [9]), whereas cross references are indicated by means of numbers in parentheses [e.g., (22)].
In the case of texts tagged with Strong�s numbers, these can be displayed as full numbers in curly brackets, as marks (i.e., just the curly brackets, as shown in Figure 1), or not displayed at all.
This makes it quite simple to see at a glance where each hyperlink is, and eventually follow it, if we so desire.
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Fig. 1 General view of NASB (Amos 1:11).
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Special mention needs to be made of the way the program handles all complementary information (footnotes, cross references, Strong�s definitions, etc.). For the most part, they are displayed as pop-up windows, which also contain hyperlinks (Figure 2) that can be tapped with the stylus (the equivalent to a left mouse click on a desktop system) , and are very clear and easy to close or follow up. The only exceptions to this general behavior are the Introductions, Commentaries and Images, which are displayed in their own window.
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| Fig. 2 Pop-up windows with Strong's definition (left) and dictionary entries (right). Note the hyperlinks in blue; tapping on the links one can jump to that section of the module. |
Navigating the Bible and reference tools is a very easy and enjoyable experience, and it also possible to do it via the Virtual keyboard or the Hardware buttons.
The Flying Command bar (as shown in Figure 2 above) takes up some screen real estate, but in my opinion it is the fastest and most intuitive way to navigate.
The program offers two different modes: Study Mode allows users to access all kinds of study aids (plug-ins), as mentioned above, whereas Reading Mode is particularly well suited for plain reading of the Scriptures. It even includes an auto scrolling feature with adjustable speed, which I thought was very neat. Besides, people with poor eyesight can turn on the Apply bold formatting option (Figure 3).
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Fig. 3: Bold formatting makes reading the text a lot easier.
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Up to two different Bible versions can be displayed simultaneously (Figure 4), and individual verses or whole chapters can be copied and pasted (just the text, without any formatting, verse numbers, or special marks) into other applications, like Pocket Word.
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Fig. 4: Displaying two different versions (left). On the right, snapshot of one of the many pictures available in 1000 Bible Images With You.
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Finally, personal notes can be attached to any Bible verse. The only problem I found with it was that the icon showing where there is a note is so similar to the default icon (just the absence of a small red asterisk), that it is really difficult to distinguish between the two.
Bible Explorer With You
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This plug-in is useful for topical studies. Being able to choose from Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Torrey's New Topical Textbook, GNT subject index, and Oasis Help From the Bible is more than adequate for the purpose of conducting a topical study. As with all the other plug-ins, everything works seamlessly with Bible With You, so that when the Show button is tapped, all the relevant verses are displayed in our default version.
Note that the Bible references can be previewed by tapping on the yellow icons on the right hand side.
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Fig. 5 Overview of the Bible Explorer With You layout.
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The Greek New Testament
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The Greek New Testament does not include its own set of references. Instead, any activated cross references will be displayed. Figure 6 shows the references from the NASB. The only difference is that the Greek text links the references to the verses, rather than the words, and does not jump to the Old Testament Scripture passages.
I did find one glitch with the bolded text portions in Greek (i.e., direct quotations from the Old Testament). Apparently it affects my Pocket PC but not other brands, and tech support is currently trying to fix it.
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Fig. 6 The Greek New Testament, 4th revised edition, 1993.
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Searching
One of the most surprising features of Bible Concordance With You is the powerful searches it can perform. It is true that handhelds are probably not the ideal device to build complex searches (no proximity searches are possible, for example, but if you are a lot on the move, you are bound to find yourself in a position where you wish you could run more sophisticated queries. GMPSoft has done a great job in this area, always trying "to balance between mathematical precision, speed and data size". Searches are very fast, thanks to what they call "high cutting-edge algorithms in data processing."
Here is a brief list of the types of searches that are possible, and the syntax that needs to be used in each case:
AND searches -- simply type the words, in no particular order (e.g., father god). Lower-case letters are fine, since searches are case-insensitive.
OR searches -- use the pipe symbol "|" to separate the alternative words ( e.g., i|you|we rejoice).
NOT searches -- use the exclamation mark "!" (e.g., silas !paul).
Phrase searches (or string searches) -- write them in double quotes ("), e.g., "son of man."
Wildcard searches (searches with an asterisk "*") can be run by placing the asterisk inside or at the end of a word, never at the beginning -- e.g., he*r or hear*. Although it does not appear to be documented, single character wildcard searches (i.e., using a question mark "?") are also possible (e.g., hear?). [4]
Strong's numbers searches -- simply write the number with the "g" or "h" prefix (e.g., g32a -- that is, ἄγγελος).
Different types of searches can be combined -- e.g., g444 m?n faith* or bless* will !is|are
Mixed searches with Strong's numbers and words are allowed -- e.g., g444 !man or g444 mankind. [5]
When a search includes Strong's numbers, no words are displayed with the results, just the references. Also, the Lookup drop-down text box includes a Search history function that keeps track of the last searches done.
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Fig. 7 Different search results displays. The number that appears beside the icon indicates the number of verses found.
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Conclusion
Bible With You (with its many plug-ins), and Bible Concordance With You are relative newcomers, but their performance is already noteworthy. They are fast and intuitive. Hyperlinks are clear and easy to navigate, and the explanations and examples found in the accompanying documentation are really helpful. Improvements are taking place so rapidly, that one is left with the impression that great things are in store for GMPSoft users.
It does seem that the various companies that produce Bible software for PDAs are in for some competition, and this is always good for the end user, who is bound to derive the most benefit from quality products such as this one.
Pros
Very powerful, fast, and versatile searches
Nice display of hyperlinks
Reading mode and Study mode can be configured independently
Excellent PDF User Guides for all products (available also as online downloads)
Cons
No Greek searches are currently possible
No highlighting facility (but see Update further below)
Sometimes icons on the Command bar (Headline bar) are partially or totally hidden behind the Virtual keyboard icon and cannot be tapped.
UPDATE (Februay 16, 2007): Bible Software With You version 7.23
This new version includes some major enhancements worth noticing:
Morphologically tagged GNT
GMPSoft now offers the standard Greek text of UBS4 with the morphological database developed by OakTree Software (makers of Accordance Bible Software). This is found in the new Bible Bundle (Greek UBS4). Note that the Greek text is not searchable yet, but all the parsing and lexical information, as well as the English glosses for each NT word are available as a hyperlink.
Grammatical Highlighting
One recently introduced highlighting feature includes the ability to have all/any grammatical information appear with a different highlight color, background color or underline style whenever the UBS4 text is displayed. A detailed flash demo can be found here.
Highlight Bookmarks
In my original review I pointed out that the absence of a highlighting feature was one of the areas in which I had found the program to be lacking. Well, it seems that GMPSoft developers have come up with a really nice solution. The highlight bookmarks feature can be used to mark the text of a specific translation with different colors and assign them to customizable categories, but it also allows us to attach notes to highlighted verses and jump to other bookmarked passages.Highlight Bookmarks can even be copied to the Clipboard.
Conclusion
Version 7 is offered as a free update for users who already own a previous version of the program. It adds some very useful features for those who need to have a morphological version of the GNT on their PDA, and improves the general value of a very nicely designed product.
