Pocket Bible for Windows is a new product from Laridian.  Laridian have been making Bible software for sometime, however up until now it has always been aimed at the mobile market.  This new version targets the Windows desktop, but has some unique features and some interesting differences to many other Bible software applications on the market today.

This review is aimed at beginners - those who are not confident to computers - with the goal of helping you understand whether this product is for you or not.

Rather than go through all the features and explain them all in text I thought I might instead build some screen casts of the product so that you can look at how you interact with the application.  These screen casts are in WMV format so you should be able to play them on (almost) any Windows computer.

Product Layout

Firstly I've done a screen cast that goes through how the product is laid out - particularly how the windows work, and also look at taking notes. 

Click the link below and then select either "Open" to play the file or "Save" to save it to your computer to watch later.

Low Res (6 mins 17 seconds, 5.5Mb)

Hi Res (6 mins 17 seconds, 33.7Mb)

To summarize the layout portion of the review, PocketBible for Windows has some good points and some quirks that may take some getting used to for some users (particularly people not confident with computers).  The good points are

• fast start times
• placing your mouse over verses will show you a tool tip of the verse without having to change your bible location
• easy to follow what book you are looking at thanks to the color coded background
• good segregation of books by type makes it easy to switch between common books (e.g. dictionaries, commentaries, etc)
• Very rich note taking functionality via HTML

The quirks are:

• Lots of menu items to open books may be confusing to some people
• Laying out windows is done using a new paradigm
• HTML codes in notes will be off-putting to those who don't understand HTML

Devotional Reading

One of the strengths of PocketBible is the devotional side of it.  PocketBible makes it easy to work through a Bible Reading plan, remember where you are up to if you don't manage to do it every day.

Again, I've got a screen cast that walks through how the devotional system works.  As before, click the appropriate link and select "Open" or "Save":

Low Res (4 mins, 58 seconds, 4.5Mb)

Hi Res (4 mins, 58 seconds, 21 Mb)

Again, to summarize the good points of devotional reading:

• Easy to set and open your preferred devotional
• Mark each day as read - helps you know what days you've missed and need to go back to
• Very good navigation between days
• Excellent range of devotionals available

Again, the quirks are:

• Can't build your own reading plan (separate product required)

Other notable features

Laridian have numerous books available for Pocket Bible, so getting what you want shouldn't be hard.  This includes a huge range of Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, devotionals and other books.

Some of the other key strong features of PocketBible for Windows include:

• Its fast!
• The ability to launch the application from a USB key
• Share PocketBible notes with Laridians mobile software
• Purchase a book once and use it on either Windows or your mobile device

Running the application from a USB key is actually quite a nice option.  This option means you dont have to install anything on the computer you are using at all, making starting the application a matter of just plugging in the USB Key and clicking the "run" button.  It also allows you to take your software with you and run it on any computer, and you'll have all your notes and library with you wherever you go. 

You can purchase PocketBible for Windows over the internet from Laridians website for $19.99, and have it delivered either via download or on a USB Memory key.

Conclusion

Overall I think PocketBible for Windows is a strong first version.  The product has some quirks, however it also has some very nice features.  The ability to share your notes and even books with the mobile version of PocketBible is a huge plus (we need more of this in the industry).  The price is excellent, and there is a great range of books and Bibles available to you.  If you want want to put your devotional life on steroids, this could be the product to do it.