Windows Phone 8 App

[quote]in other words they're not universal

Not going to debate whether Microsoft chose a good term. Turns out, they don't work in Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, either. They're apps.

[quote]Windows 8/8.1 users would gain nothing

Windows 8/8.1 users would very much so gain something, as the conversation between Daniel and me indicates.

[quote]they're only of benefit to Windows Phone users

Therefore, they do not only benefit Windows Phone users.

[quote]apps are being improved for Windows 10

Of course, Microsoft is going to improve their current development approach for the next operating system version. There will always be improvement, but you can't wait around for some improvement one day or you will never start.

[quote]Universal apps aren't useful whilst you still have to support Windows 7

Windows 7 users are going to need to use the Logos desktop app since Windows 7 doesn't support apps. The universal app I'm asking for is not competing with the desktop app, but complementing it. By your logic, Logos should have never created an iOS app, since they already have a Mac program, and there are still Mac users around.

A good number of technology watchers (and possibly Microsoft, I don't remember for sure) have indicated that Windows 10 may very well be the last big release of Windows. I.e., you could be waiting for Windows 11 for a very long time.

The long and short of it is that the potential and strategic purpose of Universal apps is that you can write largely the same app for both phone and Windows app (not desktop, though you can run them on the desktop as well in Windows 10), and not have to start over to have an app in both environments. I.e., your audience of a single development effort just multiplied, which was the very argument of the recent posts of this thread.

No one would want to re-write all the functionality of the desktop program as an app. Mobile devices (including tablets, to a degree, though the Surface functions as both tablet and laptop) are frequently used for specific, small tasks, such as taking down a note or looking up a single item quickly (or very practically, reading a book). That can be beautifully served by an app that complements desktop Logos. iOS and Android are getting these apps, and it's time that Logos engage their Windows users to serve their needs in this space as well.

Why is YouVersion, an app launched by some church in Oklahoma, the go-to app for bible reading world-wide? Logos had decades of Bible software experience under their belt when YouVersion was launched. BTW, that church in Oklahoma managed to create a Windows Phone app, too. Is it really too much to ask of the premier Bible software company in the world to support all of the three major platforms when a church in Oklahoma can do it?

I have really been enjoying this thread debate today. I live in Australia a long way from USA. I am right on board with your viewpoint Joe and as an early contributor to the debate I can see that you have certainly livened it up. I have always wondered why on the logos training videos and you tube clips everyone is using a mac. Apple were a latecomer to the Logos community and for a long time people were complaining about the flaky implementation, maybe they still are. Yet for some reason Logos appear to have ignored the rapidly growing user base on Windows 8.1. I have both an ASUS notebook and a surface pro 2 yet the windows software makes no attempt at being touch friendly. In my conversation with Logos staff when I upgraded to logos 6 I was told that touch is not even on their radar. So for reading, highlighting and taking notes on the go I use a Samsung tablet running Android. Please don't mention the appalling excuse for a Windows 8 app. In my opinion it should be withdrawn from the store as it is a disgrace to the brand and has probably been the principal reason for people choosing iPad or Android rather than a windows tablet or phone. Enough of my rant. There is really no excuse not to put the focus back onto windows platforms.

Mark Barnes said:

The "some church in Oklahoma" has plowed more than $20million into developing it.

Wow.  Still the investment is worth it, if some poor soul in North Korea can get past the government firewall and gain access to the Scriptures.

Thanks Mark, that's an interesting comment about RT. The original surface RT and the Surface 2RT are both excellent tablets for those among us who have limited uses for a laptop and want a simpler device. Things such as email, keeping in touch with family through Facebook, YouTube, streaming video and audio both over the home network and online are all accomplished with ease on those much maligned windows tablets. For the senior citizens among my family and friends they are simply perfect and at a price that no one else can match. The marketing of these tablets  by Microsoft was appalling, their benefits are amazing, windows with no viruses awesome. There is a very strong market for second hand RT tablets here on Ebay with prices holding well. Enough of that rant. The Logos windows app is a disgrace to the brand. My wife and friends have to use the other beautiful Bible apps on the platform whilst rubbishing the Logos Bible app to me. As for windows phone, we all have Nokia Lumia phones and are faced with the same problems. The Lumia 520 entry level phone is probably the best selling phone in its class here. Once again we have the same problem. Windows 10 can't come soon enough for me. My concern is that having spent thousands on a Logos library over the years I cannot just drop it and change brands. Logos has us captured and in my opinion is abusing that position by not supporting the latest Windows features and platforms.

I'd like to add my voice to those who want a universal app ASAP.  I've been using Logos for years and I love it.  I only wish that I could use it in tablet mode (yes, I have the basic app) and on my phone.

Surface Pro 3 is my everyday computer.  I use it as a desktop, a laptop and a tablet.  Constantly.  Logos really shines in the desktop mode, works good in the laptop mode but is not very good in tablet mode (though I still use the pen to navigate ok).

Mark, I wish Logos had kept up with Windows as it evolved.  Windows 8 and 8.1 is not bad at all.  It has been a disappointment in the Marketplace but there is still a huge number of actual users.  Beyond this, and more to the point, the PC market is doing ok and even showed signs of recovery.  Windows 8.1 is doing ok too.  See http://winsupersite.com/hardware/yes-pc-market-recovered-2014.

I'm afraid that Logos will leave Windows users without a universal app for more than a year from now.  Is there any news on the Windows 10 development front?  Is Logos going to get an app out there for Windows 10 shortly after launch?  That would be great.  Or, is Logos going to wait to see how the market goes as it did for Windows 8/8.1?

Thanks for interacting on this forum.

I have been a Logos user for a very long time, and I have spent a tremendous amount of money on Logos products.  Over the years I have recommended Logos to my friends, and have argued how much better the platform is than anything else out there.  However, I have been incredibly disappointed with the lack of Windows Phone support.  I am a Windows user to the core.  I have tried to use and love Macs, but I just don't like them.  All this talk about Mac vs. PC. vs. Android is basically preferences.  They are all good platforms.  I have my entire tech life integrated into Windows platforms, and I am not going to move from Windows to a Mac or Android device for Logos.  If Logos wants to hold me as a customer, they will need to develop a fully functional app for Windows Mobile devices.

I was sitting in church a couple weeks ago, frustrated and embarrassed that I had to use YouVersion as my Bible software.  Logos, you are the top game in town for serious study.  But, you will lose me if you don't develop an app for Windows Mobile.

Veli Voipio said:

Is this related to the discussion above?

https://blog.faithlife.com/blog/2015/03/logos-app-coming-to-windows-phone-help-make-it-happen/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FaithlifeBlog+%28Faithlife+Blog%29 

Yes.  It is the associated blog post connected to the link Bradley provided above.  Also found in a Logos Talk article.

Joseph Hall said:

I'm getting sad now. I'm looking forward to a Windows Phone app, but the production cost graph has barely moved... That could mean either an astronomical cost or a lack of support from the community... Let's make this happen, guys!

Something worth considering for those of us who really would like to see this happen: when they first made the community pricing option available, the max you could bid was $38 or so. For everyone that rushed out like I did, that's the max you may have bid. However, they have adjusted things since then, so if you're willing to pay $50 (or all the way up to $90), you can increase your bid now. Worth it to me.

I'd really like to hear from FL on this. Does this change their Windows strategy at all?

Dave Dunkin (Faithlife) said:

I suspect they may be a viable short term solution, but won't be the great user experience we want to deliver

I understand but it has to be better than wk at we have now which is nothing. What we had was better than what we have now.

Judicaël MARQUES said:

Does anyone know if the universal Windows app will soon be available? Windows 10 is about to be ready!

The Universal App is part of the Community Pricing Program (https://www.logos.com/product/50060/windows-universal-bible-app) and it's waiting for more community support before it gets the green light.

At the moment the graph looks a long way off from reaching 100% of the production cost; it's been in the program for a few months now and that graph has hardly made a bump toward 100% so it's possible that it will never happen through crowdfunding.