Bible Unleashed
Created for Handmark, Inc., Bible Unleashed puts four translations of the bible onto the iPhone.
The app itself does everything it is supposed to, but it got horrible reviews!
Find out why below.
Client
Handmark Inc. is one of the top distributors of mobile content.
They have publishing rights to some translations of the bible. Having created bible applications for Blackberry and other Java platforms, they sought to extend their presence to the iPhone.
Challenges
Usability. The bible has to be easy to use. It should be easy to bookmark verses to return to them.
Offline and online. Because of the large amount of text in the bible, Handmark wanted to provide a version that didn't require a long download time. Verses would be downloaded as needed, but then stored on the phone for offline access.
The Solution
Search and Browse
Searching and browsing follows the standard iPhone list interface.
Viewing and Retrieving
Once a chapter or verse has been downloaded, it is stored on the phone for fast offline retrieval later.
Bookmarking
Bookmarked verses are stored on the phone locally for fast retrieval.
Scathing Reviews!
This app highlights one of the challenges of developing any application for the mass consumer market.
No matter how good the app, developers face the risk of poor reviews for reasons that are outside their control. This highlights the importance of getting an app "right" in every aspect before launch. In this case, even though complaints were rectified, the application has a 1-star rating because of the following:
Nonchristian Reviewers
Nonchristian reviewers have given sarcastic 1-star reviews.
Christian Reviewers
Christian reviewers have complained about the app not being free. Some have said that this is unethical, even though these same people would probably have no problem with purchasing a bible in the store. There are free and premium physical versions of the bible available, yet no one complains about this.
Incorrect Reviews
Some reviewers said that it is a "web app", which is simply not true. The application has functionality that would not be available over the web (such as offline access). Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about incorrect reviews except to make the application description as clear as possible.
Outdated Reviews
This application was available on opening day of the AppStore in July 2008. At that time developers had no pricing information beforehand, so all application developers had to make guesses as to what applications would sell for. As a result, the app went live with a price of $9.99. Many people complained about the price, and Handmark immediately dropped it. However, the reviews still stand. Outdated reviews complain about the price, even though it is no longer relevant.