My initial iPad and Logos app thoughts and suggestions

Nothing earth shattering to follow, but I am very much enjoying Logos on the iPad. The improved screen real estate makes Logos enjoyable for reading (relative to my iTouch). I had to force myself to read on the iPhone, but reading is a pleasure on the iPad. The Logos app also seems to run faster on the iPad than my iTouch (still feels like it could be snappier though). Probably the biggest negative for me has been that the iPad is heavier than my Kindle...usually need two hands unless I'm resting the iPad on something. This isn't a big deal for me, just something that stood out in my initial use.

Some suggestions (most have probably been mentioned on the forum and/or are already in the works I'm sure):

The ESV often runs over the right hand margin when I open it in portrait mode. If I rotate it then to landscape and then back to portrait, the right hand margin operates properly. Sometimes get an error message that says "Error loading book...Logos could not load the specified book", but the right hand margin will still operate properly afterwards.
Would like to be able to set the brightness within the Logos app, the font, the font size and the background. These are features that are available on other reader apps on the iPad.
Would like to be able to highlight
Would like to be able to copy and paste
Ability to jot a quick note would probably be helpful. When I'm reading a hardcopy book I usually mark it up and I do miss that ability in Logos on the iPad.
If I'm reading a Bible and I go to the Passage Guide, I would like the Passage Guide to recognize where I am at in the Bible. On my iPad I have to manually enter the passage into the Passage Guide.
In Bible Word Study, I would like to be able to select the lemma inside the translation ring and then have all the usages spit out below the ring (like Logos 4 for the PC). I can select the various words to the right of the translation ring and the usages will be spit out for them individually, just not yet for the lemma.
Since I'll be doing a lot more reading on the iPad (vs. the iTouch or my computer), it would be nice to have the ability to report typos in the iPad app. I found two typos this morning while reading on the iPad and had to boot up my computer and start Logos in order to report them.

Thanks for making Logos available on the iPad! I'm looking forward to a continuously improving user experience

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Comments

Todd Phillips

[Y] Thumbs up to all the suggestions.

Terry Poperszky

The ESV often runs over the right hand margin when I open it in portrait mode. If I rotate it then to landscape and then back to portrait, the right hand margin operates properly. Sometimes get an error message that says "Error loading book...Logos could not load the specified book", but the right hand margin will still operate properly afterward

It happens to more than the ESV, I was having that issue with NASB as well as a couple of others.

David Gratton

I agree with Brian's observations and suggestions. I would go further with the notes feature though.

regards

dgg

Kevin A. Purcell

Some suggestions (most have probably been mentioned on the forum and/or are already in the works I'm sure):

The ESV often runs over the right hand margin when I open it in portrait mode. If I rotate it then to landscape and then back to portrait, the right hand margin operates properly. Sometimes get an error message that says "Error loading book...Logos could not load the specified book", but the right hand margin will still operate properly afterwards.

Would like to be able to set the brightness within the Logos app, the font, the font size and the background. These are features that are available on other reader apps on the iPad.

Would like to be able to highlight

Would like to be able to copy and paste

Ability to jot a quick note would probably be helpful. When I'm reading a hardcopy book I usually mark it up and I do miss that ability in Logos on the iPad.

If I'm reading a Bible and I go to the Passage Guide, I would like the Passage Guide to recognize where I am at in the Bible. On my iPad I have to manually enter the passage into the Passage Guide.

In Bible Word Study, I would like to be able to select the lemma inside the translation ring and then have all the usages spit out below the ring (like Logos 4 for the PC). I can select the various words to the right of the translation ring and the usages will be spit out for them individually, just not yet for the lemma.

Since I'll be doing a lot more reading on the iPad (vs. the iTouch or my computer), it would be nice to have the ability to report typos in the iPad app. I found two typos this morning while reading on the iPad and had to boot up my computer and start Logos in order to report them.

Thanks for making Logos available on the iPad! I'm looking forward to a continuously improving user experience

I confirm the first isssue with the ESV and other books.

I think a lot of what you are asking for is coming. As they say, Patience. And give it to me NOW!

Dave Dunkin (Logos)

Brian, thanks for the suggestions.

If you rotate and then rotate again before the app has finished loading, you will often get an error. This is a bug we're working to fix. The workaround is to wait until the app has finished loading until rotating again.

If you swipe up while reading a Bible you have an option to run a passage guide on a passage on the screen.

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114025#Comment_114025

Thanks, Dave D.

The swipe up at least puts me in the ball park. If I swipe up on 1 Sam. 8:22 (the last verse of the chapter), the swipe up menu starts at 1 Sam. 8:1 (the first verse). 21 taps later on the arrow and I'm where I need to be (verse 22). IF possible, it would be nice for the swipe up to take me to the verse I swiped (+ or - a verse).

Also wondering if there could be a "Help" section somewhere that users could tap that would include a screenshot of the possible swipes and resulting actions (just to trip the memory in times of brain cramps)?

Kevin A. Purcell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114039#Comment_114039

The swipe up at least puts me in the ball park. If I swipe up on 1 Sam. 8:22 (the last verse of the chapter), the swipe up menu starts at 1 Sam. 8:1 (the first verse). 21 taps later on the arrow and I'm where I need to be (verse 22). IF possible, it would be nice for the swipe up to take me to the verse I swiped (+ or - a verse).

What you are describing is atypical. For me it does swipe at the location of the verse at the very top of the screen.

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114469#Comment_114469

Thanks, Kevin. I noticed that this afternoon (the top of the page bit). The issue remains on my end and I would guess on your end too. if you swipe a verse towards the bottom of the page you are going to have to click through a lot of verses (21 in my instance). The number of verses you will have to arrow through is inversely related to the size of the font you have chosen in the Settings (the smaller the font, the more verses you will have to arrow throw). If it's not a programming nightmare, I would like to see the swipe end up at least within a verse or two of where I have swiped regardless of whether I am using a large font and there are only a handful of verses on the screen or a small font resulting in many verses on the screen.

The way it currently is set to work (top of the page) makes sense to me if you have a small screen like the iTouch/iPhone, but makes less sense if you are dealing with the much bigger screen on the iPad in my opinion.

Kevin A. Purcell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114478#Comment_114478

The issue remains on my end and I would guess on your end too. if you swipe a verse towards the bottom of the page you are going to have to click through a lot of verses (21 in my instance).

The work around might be to go directly to the verse with the Verse chooser. For example if I was in Romans 16 and wanted to Tweet v 17 you could just tap the screen so the toolbar shows, tap Verse and then go directly to Romans 16:17 and then choose swipe. The layout was chosen when this was an iPhone app and the most you might have to tap is a few verses to get to your desired one. On the iPad this may have to be rethought since it could be 20 verses or more depending on the size of the font you choose.

tjebme

Another suggestion I would add to my list is to have the Reading Plans work consistently when users don't have access to WiFi, but the related resource has been previously downloaded to the iPad.

Matt B

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114571#Comment_114571

Development of a notes feature seems pretty important since Apple with with no-multitasking. Ideally a note file that stays open next to the resource (split window) but, I understand I can only expect so much development for a free application. (I don't have an iPad, I just got an iPod for the purpose of Logos Mobile- so it will be a while before my comments even matter!)

Jason Forbes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114573#Comment_114573

I've yet to lay my grubby oversized hands on an iPad since I'm in Australia, but I am dissapointed to read that it's not possible to take notes.

Dear Developers, I have Cerebral Palsy, and the iPad represents a way I can access the Bible quickly and easily. Having cerebal palsy also mean I can't write with a pen to take down notes. Being able to take down notes during a sermon, then to be able to syncronise later with the rest of my user data would be a huge help. Could you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, consider developing this feature for the next update. I've noticed other Bible packages can do this on the iPhone.

Ward Walker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114571#Comment_114571

Another suggestion I would add to my list is to have the Reading Plans work consistently when users don't have access to WiFi, but the related resource has been previously downloaded to the iPad.

Can you clarify--I don't have an Apple device, but have considered an iTouch or iPad for reading plans for offline resources; is that possible & when you get to a WiFi spot, does it resync progress correctly?

-- Also, does the highlighting feature of v4 also work on the Itouch/pad?

Thank you

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115572#Comment_115572

The Reading Plans you create in Logos show up in the Home screen on the Logos app on the iPad. My iPad is offline currently. I selected my N.T. Reading Plan on the Home page and it correctly shows the reading selection for the next several days. I selected today's reading in Luke 9:46-62 and my ESV correctly opened up to the passage for today's reading (I have the ESV downloaded to my iPad) and correctly displayed the "start" reading bar and the "stop" reading bar. Other times when I select a reading it doesn't even open the downloaded resource so my experience has been inconsistent with Reading Plans in the offline mode. I haven't noticed any problems with the Reading Plans when I'm using WiFi...other than the issue that others have mentioned with the iTouch that the "Mark Read" selector can take several tries before you are able to mark the passage as read...it advances to the next page instead of marking the passage as read...I thought this problem might go away with the bigger screen of the iPad, but it didn't.

Highlighting capabilities are not available yet.

Hope this answers your questions.

Ralph Mauch

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115091#Comment_115091

I am dissapointed to read that it's not possible to take notes

Interesting, is this because of Logos only being able to look at the resource in a reading mode, couldn't one use something within the Ipad to take notes? Please keep the discussions going on this, it's beginning to sound like something I might have an interest in, and more friendly then lugging the laptop around.

Kevin A. Purcell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115602#Comment_115602

couldn't one use something within the Ipad to take notes?

Yes. There is the Notes app. The problem is that you would have to close the Logos app by hitting the Home button on the device and then open the Notes app. You cannot copy from Logos either so this makes it even harder to do since you would have to memorize anything you wanted to quote. The ideal would be for Apple to announce today at their iPhone OS 4.0 reveal that they are supporting multitasking of some kind. But until that happens, a good iPad Bible app will have note taking capability. I'm not saying that Logos is not good, but if this feature is not added in the near future I believe users will be jumping ship and going to something like the competition which has yet to get approved for the iPad, but when it does will have note taking that syncs to the cloud. Also there is one App that is a one trick pony (all it does is read the ESV) but also has a note taking feature (although poorly implemented).

Ralph Mauch

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115751#Comment_115751

The problem is that you would have to close the Logos app by hitting the Home button on the device

See, I just took it for granted that one could multi-task. Thanks for explaining that all Kevin, it's like with everything, wait until the bugs are out. Still, it looks promising as apps are created or made better from the Logos end of it.

Kevin A. Purcell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115966#Comment_115966

The problem is that you would have to close the Logos app by hitting the Home button on the device

See, I just took it for granted that one could multi-task. Thanks for explaining that all Kevin, it's like with everything, wait until the bugs are out. Still, it looks promising as apps are created or made better from the Logos end of it.

Apple did announce what they call multitasking. In reality it is a system where say Logos would kind of save the current state when you engage multitasking. So you would double press the Home key and Logos would save it's current state of affairs and then you can fire up another app - say Pages on the iPad, and work in it.

It's not full multitasking, but it sounds like it will work well. Have to wait till summer for iPhone and Fall for iPad.

I wrote up a full article about what's coming here: http://www.notebooks.com/2010/04/08/i-was-right-that-i-was-wrong-iphone-4g-edition/

tjebme

I'm reading the Septuagint as Christian Scripture on the iPad. When I exited Logos to check my emails and returned to Logos, Logos did not return to where I had stopped reading (it returned to the start of the Introduction at the beginning of the book).

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/116432#Comment_116432

If you have kids, beware. I'm finding out I have to fight them off the iPad. Probably means our household eventually has two iPads.

Ward Walker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115591#Comment_115591

Hope this answers your questions.

Thank you...very helpful (although I'm really stuck deciding between a laptop or tablet running the full software or the iPad w/3G. The cost points are very close, especially considering the $30/mo 3G fee, while the functionality has decided differences. Humm.)

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/116841#Comment_116841

Sorry. Can't help you there. I'm using the iPad as a supplement to my laptop, not a replacement for my laptop. Over the last six years I have had seven tablet PCs. I tried to use them as my main computer, but they ended up being relatively underpowered for the money. I really liked the ability to ink, but finally gave up the tablets and went with the improved processing power of a regular laptop. While I don't expect the iPad to replace my laptop, I do expect to use my laptop a lot less. If I didn't have Logos, the iPad would probably be just a gadget for me. Logos just makes the iPad a natural purchase in my case. Still do in-depth studying on my laptop though.

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/116876#Comment_116876

Another small suggestion...would be nice when reading a Bible on the iPad to have something at the top of the screen that could remain at the top of the screen showing the book, chapter and verse (perhaps a thin ribbon bar...with the option to turn it off as desired).

Terry Poperszky

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/116907#Comment_116907

Another small suggestion...would be nice when reading a Bible on the iPad to have something at the top of the screen that could remain at the top of the screen showing the book, chapter and verse (perhaps a thin ribbon bar...with the option to turn it off as desired).

[Y]

Sumair

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/117025#Comment_117025

I was wondering if you can see a commentary beside an open bible?

tjebme

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/117629#Comment_117629

As of now, no you cannot.