Switching from iOS to Android Tablet

Having been an iPad user for several years, i am now giving serious thought to getting a Galaxy note/pro 10/12" tablet. (I'm tired of sandboxing in iPad which is slowing down my productivity).

My question is, how much difference will I find when using Logos?

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Comments

Sakarias Ingolfsson

I myself have a Galaxy Note 8" tablet, running the latest Logos app. It is great.

I recently made a quick test of Logos on my wife's iPad, and though I was not that thorough, it seems to me that it is very much the same. Are there any particular features you are wondering about, or just the general impression?

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561652#Comment_561652

One thing that bothers me in the Android app is the lack of a dictionary look-up feature like the IOS version has. I am surprised at how much I miss that. The explanation is that they have not yet figured out how to implement a dictionary in the Android version, which IOS has natively, but I figure if Kindle can do it then it shouldn't be that complicated for Logos.

Sean McIntyre

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561652#Comment_561652

I myself have a Galaxy Note 8" tablet, running the latest Logos app. It is great.

I recently made a quick test of Logos on my wife's iPad, and though I was not that thorough, it seems to me that it is very much the same. Are there any particular features you are wondering about, or just the general impression?

One thing that bothers me in the Android app is the lack of a dictionary look-up feature like the IOS version has. I am surprised at how much I miss that. The explanation is that they have not yet figured out how to implement a dictionary in the Android version, which IOS has natively, but I figure if Kindle can do it then it shouldn't be that complicated for Logos.

Thanks guys,

Joseph, I would definitely miss the dictionary. I actually like the app on iOS but I just can't get over Apples sandboxing policy which just cripples the functionality that it would otherwise have. Its fine as long as you want to use one app at a time but anytime you need those apps to talk with each other you just end up having to find workarounds.

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561678#Comment_561678

The Android app compares well with the IOS app except in that one respect as far as I am concerned, so don't take my one criticism as overly condemning. It does stick out as a major difference though.

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561678#Comment_561678

I just can't get over Apples sandboxing policy which just cripples the functionality that it would otherwise have. Its fine as long as you want to use one app at a time but anytime you need those apps to talk with each other you just end up having to find workarounds.

Its worth notice that the Logos mobile apps are "sandboxed" (at least to a degree) on Android as well in that resources in one app can't be shared with resources in another.

In other words, if you want to download the same resource into the Bible! app and the Faithlife app you end up with two copies on your tablet.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561692#Comment_561692

The sandboxing drives me up the wall too. But 'some' of the problem is associated with the apps themselves, having a limited feature set, and so having to use multiple apps. In art, I use maybe six. In music, probably about eight or so. Logos itself 'could' allow the user to move files with iTunes, but doesn't since that'd be a lot of support calls.

But I much prefer a safer environment plus hassle, then a loosey-goosey one. Maybe since I still use the Lenovo tablet also, the sandboxing isn't so onerous.

John Goodman

Personally I find my productivity very limited on android - the standard of the apps is very low by comparison imho.

I have an iPad and my wife has a Nexus 7.

One example is footnotes. Many students in my college are using ipads for all their work but many users of android tablets went out to buy ipads in order to write footnotes. Maybe the situation has improved?

Another example is PDF annotation and reference managers. Sente on ipad is very hard to beat.

ithoughtshd for ipad is superb. Android only has mindjet which is not as good or others which are terrible.

Last example is Pages, Keynote and Numbers on ipad. Other office packages for tablets are crippled by comparison.

The drawbacks in the logos app on android seem to be that 'cited by' searching is not so easy and also read aloud does not use the system voice so only the books with an audio recording will play.

Hope that's helpful?

John

Everett Headley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561713#Comment_561713

For what its worth:

I am upgrading my tablet soon and have been thinking of going with an iPad for several reasons over my Transformer Prime. But when it comes to using Logos, the Android app is still behind the iOS app. Promises of parity have been around for a few years, but they have never materialized. My thought is that within the tech world, Apple reigns over Android which means more users. More users means more effort put into apps on that platform. Three years ago I bought into Android becuase I was told that there would be parity very soon. It still has not happened.

That being said, the Android app is very functional, smooth, and now elegant. I do like it much better in v.4. If you are looking to simply read your books on it, add some notes, then you will do just fine.

Drew Hannay

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/561906#Comment_561906

But when it comes to using Logos, the Android app is still behind the iOS app. [...] Three years ago I bought into Android becuase I was told that there would be parity very soon. It still has not happened.

As far as we (the Logos mobile team) are aware, we are two major features short of parity between iOS and Android, and they're not both on the Android side. [:)] The Android apps are missing the ability to turn notes/reading plans/etc off and on in a per-resource basis, and the iOS apps are missing the rich text editor for notes that Android has. Aside from that, both platforms have pretty much the same feature set. There will always be some minor differences based on what each platform excels at and struggles with; as you mentioned, iOS has the built in dictionary feature that Android lacks...but on the other hand, Android does better with loading extremely large notes into the note document view. iOS has the ability to let the system voice read your books, Android has NFC sharing and the ability to create unattached notes with content shared from your other apps. It will always be a trade off on the little things like that.

As for parity going forward, I believe the plan is to have all new features be developed for both platforms at the same time. As of two weeks ago, I'm actually doing just that...splitting my time between the platforms and writing new features for both Android and iOS at the same time. [:)]

Fr Devin Roza

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562190#Comment_562190

One little feature I miss on the Android app is the option to have a paper colored background.

Everett Headley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562243#Comment_562243

Drew,

Parity has come closer. What I was expressing was how long it took and what that might mean going forward. If I had it to do over again, I would still opt for iOS devices...

When I think of what is missing is "one finger" scrolling. Which to me is the last major feature missing with no idea when it might be implemented.

Drew Hannay

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562266#Comment_562266

When I think of what is missing is "one finger" scrolling. Which to me is the last major feature missing with no idea when it might be implemented.

This isn't available on either platform and isn't on the immediate agenda. Both platforms do have the two finger scrolling option as a workaround for now though.

Sakarias Ingolfsson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562278#Comment_562278

When I think of what is missing is "one finger" scrolling. Which to me is the last major feature missing with no idea when it might be implemented.

This isn't available on either platform and isn't on the immediate agenda. Both platforms do have the two finger scrolling option as a workaround for now though.

I see that some people want this feature, but I really do not understand why. That is unless all you want to do is browsing or skimming through the text rather than actually reading it. Because if you do want to read more than a single paragraph, your reading pace will be broken up every time you have to scroll down the page. This is the main reason that I simply do not use the YouVersion app, but rather the Kindle app for reading bibles that are not available in Logos.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562376#Comment_562376

My guess is this issue is user preference (though true, some need to read slowly to catch the drift). Accordance drives my batty with their finger scrolling. Kindle pages ... Logos pages ... Laridian pages ... Olivetree pages.

Paging was NT ordained with papyri, as we all well know. How many churches 'scroll' through the Bible? All these Bible software companies couldn't be all wrong.

On the other hand, a drama series in Japan featured an actress scrolling her smart phone as fast as it could scroll for hours at a time. I could easily identify with that.

Sakarias Ingolfsson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562400#Comment_562400

Interestingly enough, the text on real scrolls is usually written in columns, and subsequently the scroll is rolled horizontally rather than vertically. As such, the way Logos currently works is actually even more like a real scroll, than the contemporary idea of "scrolling". On the other hand, it is true that old st. Nick usually writes on his scroll the other way, but if he wants his shoulders to ache, that is his problem ;-). It is worth noticing, however, that all of the most popular reading apps use paging (Apart from YouVersion, obviously). You can switch to "scrolling" in some of them, but paging is always the default.

Denise mentions Laridian. If you visit the Google play page for this app, you will see that it is presented with text, pictures and a video. The guy in the video praises this app for not using pages, and compares this to the way Logos and OliveTree work. (See 0:47-1:16). Then he actually goes on to say: "You'll never have to wait for the app to catch up with you as you skim through the chapter looking for the specific verse that you want". I would agree that searching for specific passages is one of the reasons for having a digital bible, but you could certainly use the search feature for this purpose. In any case it would be a waste to optimize the app for skimming rather than reading.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562487#Comment_562487

Well, like real scrolls, maybe users could turn their iPads sideways and then it would look like scrolling?

Actually I got my Laridian out again to check. It's paging up a storm with animated paper turning. But he might have his set different. I do like the Laridian because flipping vertically moves me across the parallel resources (Bibles or commentaries). Sweet. Oh and did I mention 'tabs'. It reminds me a lot of .... hmmm .... just trying to remember .... hmmmm ... oh yes ... Logos4/5!

Drew Hannay

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/562243#Comment_562243

One little feature I miss on the Android app is the option to have a paper colored background.

You won't have to miss it much longer. This will be in the next beta. [:)]