New Mobile Apps Available

[McDanielCA]

We are proud to announce the release of the official Mormon Channel and Gospel Library applications on a variety of devices from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Previously, the Mormon Channel has been available for iPhone and webOS (Palm) devices, and the Gospel Library has been available for the iPhone.These applications have been received with enthusiasm and a hunger for more applications on more devices. In conjunction with community developers, we have been working hard to meet this demand.

Today the following applications are available:

• Gospel Library for Android
• Gospel Library for iPhone and iPod touch (updated version)
• Gospel Library for iPad
• Gospel Library for webOS (Palm Pre and Pixi)
• Mormon Channel for Android
• Mormon Channel for BlackBerry (OS 4.2.1 and higher)
  • Download directly from your BlackBerry
  • Download using BlackBerry Desktop Manager
• Mormon Channel for iPhone and iPod touch (updated version)
• Mormon Channel for iPad
• Mormon Channel for webOS (Palm Pre and Pixi)

NOTE: Search the Palm App Catalog and the Android Marketplace to download the webOS and Android apps.

Mormon Channel

The Mormon Channel application allows you to stream content from the Mormon Channel (radio.lds.org), conference, Church magazines, and scripture.

Gospel Library

The Gospel Library application allows you to study, search, bookmark, annotate, link, and highlight scriptures, general conference talks, and many other gospel materials published by the Church.

Please let us know what you think.

[jaredwhittle-p40]

I work at BYU and we've gotten a professor on the webOS version of the Gospel Library, but I can't find the iPad version in the App Store. I have received the update for the iPhone version of the Gospel Library, and it's not a Universal application, so I'm suspecting there's a separate version for the iPad. I was just wondering if anyone has seen it yet or if Apple is taking their time posting it. Thanks!

[theotherdrummer-p40]

Downloaded the updated iPhone app (like the new icon) and it won't load. Screen goes black and all I can see is the carrier info, time, battery, etc. at the top of the screen.

So, yeah. It doesn't work at all. Even tried restarting my phone. Nada.

[carljokl]

It is a shame that the JavaME version is so far behind the other versions but I was aware the Android version was due out soon and here it is.

[mkmurray]

It is a shame that the JavaME version is so far behind the other versions but I was aware the Android version was due out soon and here it is.

All one has to do to speed it up is to join the project by volunteering.

[aebrown]

All one has to do to speed it up is to join the project by volunteering.

A nice comment in general, but Carl is already working on the JavaME version -- I think he's the only one right now. Hopefully others will see this and lend a hand to him.

[jaredwhittle-p40]

Does anyone know the status of the iPad version of the Gospel Library? Even though the iPhone version has been updated, the iPad version is nowhere to be found, and the iPhone update is not a universal app. But when I click on the "Gospel Library for iPad" link, it takes me to the iPhone version. Are we just saying the iPhone version is also for the iPad simply because the iPad runs iPhone apps, or is there a Gospel Library app that was made for the iPad resolution? (I'm spending a lot of time checking iTunes and my iPad for the app... hehe)

[carljokl]

I have really picked up the pace on working on the JavaME version since the original iPhone version came out but as it is I have a pile of coursework to mark which I am getting very behind on due to all the time I have been spending wanting to at least get a full end to end prototype of the JavaME reader working.

I don't know exactly how the sizes of the teams compares or the backgrounds but as far as I am aware all the Gospel Library projects started round about the same time which makes me feel bad if the iPhone app is on to a second version and I have yet to get to a demonstrable prototype.

It might not just be about people though as I think that using JavaME is a lot more constrained than the other platforms. The others that I have looked at seem to store HTML in a database and presumably render that with some html rendering component or engine on that platform. JavaME has no such HTML rendering engine and is also more constrained for memory and storage and so at the moment I am working with low level Graphics g.drawChars() type functionality.

The UI prototype I have created though is designed for omni-directional text display. I think this may be important due to the many languages the scriptures are which makes me want to handle right to left or differently oriented text well.

[McDanielCA]

In the iTunes store it says on the left hand side that it is "Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later." It has been optimized to work with the increased resolution on the iPad as well as the iPhone.

[jaredwhittle-p40]

I understand that it says compatible with iPad, but that doesn't mean it's the iPad version. Since the iPad can run all the iPhone apps, of course it's compatible with the iPad and it will say so. The problem is that the Apple App Store doesn't consider it a "Universal" app, meaning that it's the same app but has different presentations and resolutions based on which device you're using. Usually "Universal" Apps will show up under both iPad and iPhone apps, and you can tell it's Universal because there's a "+" sign in the "Free" button. But the current Gospel Library app doesn't have the indications of a Universal app, and when I launch the updated version on my iPad, it still shows up as an iPhone version. So if Gospel Library v. 1.10.1110.10052902 is a Universal app, Apple doesn't know it and the iPad doesn't know it, because my iPad still shows it in iPhone mode.