I’ve been a fan of the English Standard Version for many years. I currently own 7 print editions for various purposes, one of them being the Study Bible. Our regular readers know that I’m not typically a fan of doing innovative things with the Bible, such as producing “green” or “emerging” versions. However, taking the best study Bible ever produced and making it available on my cell phone- I’m all for that!

OliveTree Bible Software has done this. “The ESV Study Bible on your mobile device includes all text, features, notes, images, and supplemental materials of the print version, plus the easy interface of BibleReader and and the convenience and portability of handheld use.” I should make it clear that I’m reviewing the software for my Blackberry Curve. Every brand of phone is different and users will encounter different experiences depending on their phone. There are even some navigation features I don’t have because I’m on Blackberry.

Installation:

The process for installation isn’t simple, but it’s also not too challenging. First, the user is required to download the free BibleReader software that is phone-type specific. This software is essentially the browser through which the user can view the ESV Study Bible as well as other OliveTree products (some are free!). Then, the user must purchase and download three ESV files to the computer and transfer them to their Blackberry via USB. Once everything is in place, BibleReader should recognize the Study Bible as part of the library and make it available for use.

Functionality:

The three files are the ESV, ESV notes, and ESV Study Bible. When the user clicks on “Library,” each of the files or volumes appears. This can be a bit confusing, since in print form it’s all one book. By clicking on the ESV, the user is directed to the Bible. Annotations are present throughout the text and when clicked take the user to the notes volume. However, I haven’t found a way to access the Study Bible from within the basic ESV volume. The user must go back to the “Library” option and find the volume there. This lack of integration is a bit frustrating, but may be a limitation of the Blackberry OS. Maps and charts are available from the Study Bible’s Table of Contents, but they too are not integrated with the text. So if the user is reading about the Ark of the Covenant, they may have no idea that there is an illustration available.

The software has a thorough search feature that can be defined to the whole Bible or just one testament, and can search exact phrases or partial variations. There is an “Advanced search” option, but when I’ve clicked it a message tells me the option is not supported with this book. I don’t really mind, since the basic search options are more than satisfactory for a cell phone. There are also preference options available to change the fonts, colors, scrolling methods and QWERTY shortcuts.

Support:

Like most new software, there are bugs to be worked out. When I first installed the software, the search feature would not work. I had a couple different error messages that I reported on the OliveTree message boards. The staff there is quick to respond and very helpful- looking through a few of the posted issues will attest to this. I also noticed that after this problem occurred, all of my Blackberry actions slowed down. I uninstalled BibleReader and my Blackberry went back to normal. It took about a week for the problem to be resolved. An updated version of BibleReader was released. After I downloaded it, everything worked as it seems it should.

Overall, the ESV Study Bible software by OliveTree is very worthwhile. For those who have held the Study Bible, it’s a lot of weight to carry. To have all of that information in my pocket is extremely valuable. I expect that other cell phone platforms are better, such as the iPhone, but there really isn’t much more I could ask for on my Blackberry.