Logos Devs, a roadmap please...

I have seen several posts now asking for some guidance about where the Logos app on the iPhone/iPad is going but so far silence from Logos which is uncharacteristic. I have participated in the L4 Mac alpha process and the L4 Win beta process and the feedback about features and rough time lines has been meaningful. Right now the Logos iPhone/iPad app is not up to the standards of it's big brother and lags seriously behind both Pocket Bible and Bible Reader in functionality. I have a large investment in library material in the Logos format and I think you owe some comments about the future to those of us that support the company with our hard earned cash. If the prospects are not great we are big kids and can take it (I am sure there will be opinions voiced though) but silence is not in character with Logos.

The critical features from my perspective are complete offline operation (searching, guides, etc.), split screen modes, and better original languages work flow. Right now for the last I have to have a book open, tap and hold for popup, then hit Bible Word Study to get meaningful information. That is too many steps. Adding an Exegetical Guide that could be open in a split window or enhancing the popup would be a big help.

Please let us know what your plans are. I don't want to go to the competition since I already own the materials in Logos format but I am rapidly approaching that point. Sorry if this comes off as a rant, I don't mean it with an ill-spirit but the question has been asked by several folks and met with silence.

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Comments

Terry Poperszky

Please let us know what your plans are.

Logos, You have been quite forth coming in a number of threads, and I really appreciate it. But it would be nice to have the information in a single place as well. Also, could you let us know some of the difficulties that you are running up against? I know that Bob mentioned in another thread that highlighting was difficult because it relied on underlying infrastructure that was quite an undertaking. Please help us to understand.

Kenneth Neighoff

Robert,

They have posted some hints on this thread: http://community.logos.com/forums/t/18294.aspx

I hope this helps.

Robert Mullen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/142940#Comment_142940

You have been quite forth coming in a number of threads, and I really appreciate it. But it would be nice to have the information in a single place as well. Also, could you let us know some of the difficulties that you are running up against? I know that Bob mentioned in another thread that highlighting was difficult because it relied on underlying infrastructure that was quite an undertaking. Please help us to understand.

I think you are posing this question to Logos but want to be sure. I have posted my struggles in several places including this thread. I personally can live without highlighting but need the three features I listed above. Note taking on the iPad would be next on my list.

Robert Mullen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/142942#Comment_142942

Robert,

They have posted some hints on this thread: http://community.logos.com/forums/t/18294.aspx

I hope this helps.

I did see that. It gives us a little bit of a time frame (could be imminent?) and tells us there is not much to "see" in this release. That makes me think that they are working primarily on local storage and maybe local guides. That is strictly reading the tea leaves though and it would be better if we had a statement of intent. I am guessing one of the challenges is dev team size. I hope Logos doesn't underestimate the importance of the iPad platform. I think this is a platform perfectly suited for Bible study on the go and given that the owners of the technology have shown a willingness to plunk down $500-$1000 for the device you can be sure they are willing to spend on their technology. Right now the competition is winning this battle.

Terry Poperszky

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/142946#Comment_142946

I think you are posing this question to Logos but want to be sure.

You are correct, I edited my post to reflect this. Thanks. Robert, just as an FYI, from what I have been told by Tech Support, the iPhone/iPad Dev team is quite a bit smaller than the other groups and as a result doesn't have the excess CPU cycle's to communicate with us in the same fashion. I know that doesn't make it any less frustrating, but it is a reason why.

BTW, I picked up a competitors product that gave me basic functionality, highlighting and notes (NASB, NIV) for about 13.00. It isn't Logos, but it gives me what I need until Logos catches up to with their app. That and it works reliably off line.

Robert Mullen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/142952#Comment_142952

BTW, I picked up a competitors product that gave me basic functionality, highlighting and notes (NASB, NIV) for about 13.00. It isn't Logos, but it gives me what I need until Logos catches up to with their app. That and it works reliably off line.

I do have one competitors product as I was a user of their tools before I was a real user of Logos. It does a nice version of offline with good notes and search capability. Unfortunately it has no original languages support so I may need to buy a third product. That is a real point of heartburn for me but I suppose I also have a myriad of paper bibles in my possession too so this is just one example of the Utopian digital vision breaking down.

Just to keep some positives flowing, I have to say that Logos 4 has truly reinvented the way I study the bible. For the first time in my life I can see the vision becoming reality and see the fruit in my devotional time. I believe in the vision and practical application Bob is driving his people to. I want to support Logos with my dollars at every possible turn.

Dave Dunkin (Logos)

I'm sorry I did not reply to your question about a roadmap last week. We have addressed other questions about a roadmap in the past. We have publicly stated a few features we are working on, but we do not publish a full roadmap with dates and features for a variety of reasons:

Some of the features are not easy to do and therefore hard to estimate.
There are things we have planned but don't want to discuss publicly until they are ready.
Our team is not staffed like the other teams so the throughput is not as constant.
I don't want to make a promise that I'm not sure I can keep.

Because this question keeps coming up and it is easy to overlook information already posted in the forums, I have updated the FAQ to identify the few features that people are most curious about and we have committed to doing.

It is also unlikely that the mobile app will have all the features of the desktop app in the immediate future because of technical and usability constraints, but it may get other features that make more sense in a mobile environment than a desktop environment.

Regarding Bible Word Study: you can go directly to the BWS tab (in the More menu on the iPhone), touch the word button in the upper right hand and enter the word you want to look up. For Greek and Hebrew words you can use the g: and h: prefixes and the transliteration of the word, e.g. g:agape, or you can use the Greek or Hebrew keyboards available on the iPhone through the international settings.

Terry Poperszky

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/143016#Comment_143016

Because this question keeps coming up and it is easy to overlook information already posted in the forums, I have updated the FAQ to identify the few features that people are most curious about and we have committed to doing.

Thanks David, I appreciate it.

Other cool stuff I can't tell you about

Can you give us more details about the "Other Cool Stuff"? [6]

Robert Mullen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/143016#Comment_143016

Some of the features are not easy to do and therefore hard to estimate.

There are things we have planned but don't want to discuss publicly until they are ready.

Our team is not staffed like the other teams so the throughput is not as constant.

I don't want to make a promise that I'm not sure I can keep.

Because this question keeps coming up and it is easy to overlook information already posted in the forums, I have updated the FAQ to identify the few features that people are most curious about and we have committed to doing.

Thank you for the response and I completely understand the hesitancy to commit to target dates. At one point I have seen each of the posts linked and I guess I am/was just hoping for a little (OK really a lot) more detail than what we have been given so far. It appears my safest bet at this point is to go with another program until the features are fleshed out a little bit. I hope the iPhone/iPad app becomes a first class citizen like the Mac desktop app did. I know that happened it fits and starts so I think we will all just need to be content with that process on the iPad too. Good luck with your hiring. I know it is tough in the Northwest.

Alan Charles Gielczyk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/143028#Comment_143028

Did they mention that it's free?

Robert Mullen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/143200#Comment_143200

Did they mention that it's free?

I did hear that. Fortunately for us but unfortunately for Logos all the good Bible apps are free. It is the library you pay for.