Accordance VS Olive Tree

[Pastor Jonathan]

Pardon my musing a little here as I seek some thoughts from those who have both. How equal are they for original language study? Accordance can do good dives (at the the desktop) but from the mobile, it allows me to search, research, and learn. 

 

I have my personal thoughts regarding the mobile version of Accordance and I am watching and waiting to see how it comes out, but regarding the Olive Tree, for me, it just works, it's clean, and I have a lot of neat features that makes reading and listening to the Bible so pleasant. 

 

I know it will never replace my desktop, but for mobile, I am torn between the two. 

 

Thanks. 

[ukfraser]

Nathan please delete this if my comments are outside the forum guidelines. 
 

Following an email from zondervan, i bought the cultural study bible app only to find it is powered by olive tree. I can search the bible text but not the notes and its virtually impossible to navigate to any of the essays, maps etc. i contacted olive tree support and was told it was a good idea to be able to search and navigate other than the bible text but the app has never been updated so for me, its money wasted as it doesnt actually work in olive tree and personally it been such a bad experience, i havent really used the app or used them since. I will live with accordance and am pleased as their enhancements come as at least i enjoy using it and have developed my own workflows while i wait and avoid the pitfalls of the known bugs. For me, being able to be able to mainly format my resources, they are so much easier to read than dead tree versions that i am buying very little thats not available these days. Over the years i have tried lots of other bible apps and frustratingly, many have just stopped working as the ios is updated and the apps havent been (i appreciate you are on android but i switched away from that also very early as apps either wouldnt run on the os version i had and i was unable to update the os version on my device.) I also wish id bought the cultural study bible in accordance as it would have been fully searchable. However, i dont think its worth getting a second version as i havent found it that insightful.

Edited April 5, 2023 by ukfraser

[Pastor Jonathan]

@ukfraser,

 

Thank you for your response. That does help. 

 

ETA: So re-reading, it looks as though you are using Accordance to do deep study of words and original languages on the phone. I tried to use it, and I never could get it to do what I wanted it to do. 

 

I tried to put a help request in, but it never was able to be solved so that is why I moved on. For me, the only time I would really need that deep look is if I am asked a question on the fly and I can pull it up and research quickly. 

 

However, I am usually just reading and listening on my phone. 

 

I appreciate the answer you gave and it helps me to see that their works are not tied to the Scriptures, at least it doesn't sound like it is. Thanks. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Pastor Jonathan

[ukfraser]

1 hour ago, Pastor Jonathan said:

 for me, it just works, it's clean, and I have a lot of neat features that makes reading and listening to the Bible so pleasant. 

As an aside, you mentioned listening. I find the greek and hebrew in accordance meet my need though it would be nice to vary the speed as others have requested. 
i bought a set of niv cds read by david suchet and managed to get the app when it was free so listen to that as it is nice being read to!
Yes, i would prefer to listen to a good recording of the nrsv but am not convinced by text to speech and prefer a trained actor putting in appropriate expression so will live with using a different app for a better reading of a translation that is not my preferred over a less than ideal rendition of my preferred translation in the same app.

 

Hopefully one day there will be a really good recording of the nrsv by someone of suchet's caliber but as the translations keep getting updated i am certainly not holding my breath.
 

;o) 

[ukfraser]

1 hour ago, john_2022 said:

 

CBD has the older NRSV narrated by Stephen Johnson and the new one (NRSVue) by Michael Beck to be released in August.

 

Just curious - Are you planning to switch to the update?

Thanks, will check them out.

 

If im correct in assuming you mean switching to nrsvue, i may do at some time but its not high on my list of priorities and i dont think there is a tagged version available yet and i typically only buy tagged versions (tev being an exception).
 

Im not expecting the congregation to update their bibles as virtually non change their translations unless there is something specific that makes them and typically tend to use the same  translation used in church and in the current climate, i cant see any of the churches im involved with buying a load of new copies any time soon as the nrsv is used throughout the diocese as well as all the associated resources such as the printed lectionary and lent and advent material. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by ukfraser

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I’ll leave this thread up since it’s just a general discussion about how to use various Bible apps in one’s workflow. I don’t see any over-promoting of competitors here yet. 🙂

 

I have Olive Tree installed on my devices just to learn how it works in case a user has a feature/module request and mentions Olive Tree having such a feature/module. I don’t see myself personally using it at the moment since the majority of what I do on mobile I can do in Accordance. I never got into heavily using Olive Tree personally before I came to work for Accordance since I tended to personally use Accordance mostly, plus a couple of other apps.

 

One thing to keep in mind @Pastor Jonathan is that with Accordance, any modules you’ve purchased from desktop will open in the mobile app, so you don’t have to buy stuff twice (an issue you can get into using a bunch of different mobile apps).

 

@ukfraser We used to have a crossgrade program, so if you need the Cultural Study Bible in Accordance, I could have sales look and see if there’s a crossgrade option for it.

 

@john_2022 By the way, they’re  changing their name from “CBD” to “ChristianBook”. They emailed me about that a while back. They are losing the “CBD” name due to the connotation with something not-so-Christian associated with it.

[ukfraser]

Thanks Nathan, i checked when accordance got the study bible as i was so disappointed with the app but because its a stand alone app rather than a resource, unfortunately it didnt qualify at the time but it would be nice to have all my resources in one place and more useable and there may have been a change in the cross grade requirements so any help would be gratefully appreciated.

 

now if i see something i want and its likely to be in accordance (like the jewish annotated apocrypha) i have decided to wait, no matter how long. (But i did get the infographic bible as hard copy as i decided that is something that is unlikely to make it into accordance, and besides, it is a nice binding and church had given me a book voucher as thanks.)

 

thanks

 

;o) 
 

Edited April 6, 2023 by ukfraser

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Thanks! I’m having a sales rep look at this and see what would be the best price for you to get it in Accordance should you decide to be interested in it.

[Pastor Jonathan]

On 4/5/2023 at 7:47 PM, Nathan Parker said:

I’ll leave this thread up since it’s just a general discussion about how to use various Bible apps in one’s workflow. I don’t see any over-promoting of competitors here yet. 🙂

 

I have Olive Tree installed on my devices just to learn how it works in case a user has a feature/module request and mentions Olive Tree having such a feature/module. I don’t see myself personally using it at the moment since the majority of what I do on mobile I can do in Accordance. I never got into heavily using Olive Tree personally before I came to work for Accordance since I tended to personally use Accordance mostly, plus a couple of other apps.

 

One thing to keep in mind @Pastor Jonathan is that with Accordance, any modules you’ve purchased from desktop will open in the mobile app, so you don’t have to buy stuff twice (an issue you can get into using a bunch of different mobile apps).

 

@ukfraser We used to have a crossgrade program, so if you need the Cultural Study Bible in Accordance, I could have sales look and see if there’s a crossgrade option for it.

 

@john_2022 By the way, they’re  changing their name from “CBD” to “ChristianBook”. They emailed me about that a while back. They are losing the “CBD” name due to the connotation with something not-so-Christian associated with it.

@Nathan Parker,

 

I get that. I do, and the fact that I don't have to buy them twice does make it nice. 

 

But here is where I am with Accordance, and maybe there is a fix that I am just not seeing. 

 

When I go to Amplify a verse, or a Word, it gives me the options to look at the Key Word or the Lexicon. 

 

Selecting one will force it to shut down. Selecting the other allows me to look at that word across the Testament, but then when I go back to that verse and reselect it, it doesn't give me ANY options. Almost as saying, "Well, you finished with this word. No more for you today." 

 

That is why I am looking for something that just "works". But I am not fully convinced that Olive Tree is it yet either. But so far, it does what I am wanting. I just have to play with it a little more as well. 

 

Thanks for your help and thoughts on this.

[Pastor Jonathan]

On 4/5/2023 at 4:46 PM, ukfraser said:

As an aside, you mentioned listening. I find the greek and hebrew in accordance meet my need though it would be nice to vary the speed as others have requested. 
i bought a set of niv cds read by david suchet and managed to get the app when it was free so listen to that as it is nice being read to!
Yes, i would prefer to listen to a good recording of the nrsv but am not convinced by text to speech and prefer a trained actor putting in appropriate expression so will live with using a different app for a better reading of a translation that is not my preferred over a less than ideal rendition of my preferred translation in the same app.

 

Hopefully one day there will be a really good recording of the nrsv by someone of suchet's caliber but as the translations keep getting updated i am certainly not holding my breath.
 

;o) 

I do like listening as well as reading. I use Bible.is for my in office listening and I don't know who reads it but the KJV is really well done and I love listening to it. 

 

Olive Tree has it, but I have not played with it much yet. What I have played with seems good but that is very limited. I will do some more tinkering when I am off on Monday. 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

On your issues with the iOS app, I would report those to support. We need to be aware of any crashes/issues you’re having with them so we can see how to address them in future updates.

 

We’re looking into possibly expanding our audio Bible offerings in the future. Nothing specific to announce yet, but we’re chatting with a handful of audio Bible producers.

[Pastor Jonathan]

@Nathan Parker,

 

It is with Android I was having these issues. I think I did share this. Let me see if I can find it again.

 

ETA:

 

Here is the thread. It was from 2021 and I tried it a few months ago and it is repeating itself. It is a bigger phone with more RAM as well as up to date services. So I know it isn't the issue with the phone now. 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Pastor Jonathan

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

OK great. Thanks!

[Pastor Jonathan]

4 minutes ago, Nathan Parker said:

OK great. Thanks!

Let me know if there are any questions or to run a test and I will be willing to try again. Thanks. 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

You’re welcome show me what threads you posted in, as well as run any additional tests you wish, so I can ensure any bug reports have been filed.

[Pastor Jonathan]

@Nathan Parker,

 

So I downloaded the Accordance app to see if the problems persisted from when that original thread was made. 

 

It seems to be working right now so I am going to stick with it as it works. I will let you know of any issues I run into as I dig deeper into the app. Thanks. 

[ukfraser]

50 minutes ago, Pastor Jonathan said:

@Nathan Parker,

 

So I downloaded the Accordance app to see if the problems persisted from when that original thread was made. 

 

It seems to be working right now so I am going to stick with it as it works. I will let you know of any issues I run into as I dig deeper into the app. Thanks. 

Just be aware there is a known issue on rearranging your library on ios. The developers are aware of it and working on a fix so for the time being, accept where the app has placed your resources.
i realise you are on android, but Just check the threads for any known issues to give the app a fair chance. I use it daily and wouldnt be without it on ios on both phone and pad and it works fine for me for normal use but havent used android for many moons. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by ukfraser

[Andrew Patterson]

On 4/7/2023 at 1:37 PM, Nathan Parker said:

We’re looking into possibly expanding our audio Bible offerings in the future. Nothing specific to announce yet, but we’re chatting with a handful of audio Bible producers.

 

+1 On this. Especially if there is a way (yes, I know this would be work haha) for Reading Mode to auto-scroll in sync with the audio Bible. 

 

Also Alexander Scourby's KJV and David Suchet's NIV-UK readings are absolute top-quality readings---please, if you can get any, get these! I can't think of any better. I've tried Max McLean's ESV, and it's just not great. His Bible-name pronunciations are all weird. I'd love a good NASB reading, but all the ones I've heard are bleh. Unless we can get some Accordance-exclusives.... 👀 

[miketisdell]

I have both on my phone but use primarily Accordance because I have found that original language searches in Olive Tree are unreliable. 

 

However, the capabilities of the desktop version are much better.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Scourby’s KJV is good. Anyone interested in reading through the NASB? 🙂 

[Misulejoha]

On 4/14/2023 at 1:11 PM, Nathan Parker said:

Scourby’s KJV is good. Anyone interested in reading through the NASB? 🙂 

+1