What’s New?
Read company news as well information about new products and new BibleReader releases.
Mac & PC Coming Soon?
Sep 15th
Please Note: Since this blog was written we have released the Mac version.
For over 12 years Olive Tree has dedicated it’s time and resources to providing premier Bible study tools to your mobile device. With the advent of the iPhone, Olive Tree quickly became a leader for Bible study in the app world. And the iPad…Olive Tree brought you one of the best looking and best study tools available on a tablet.
Now, after meeting everyone on their favorite mobile platform, Olive Tree is stepping it up once again.
This winter, Olive Tree is bringing you a desktop app for both Mac and PC!
Taking the concepts from our iPad and iPhone app, we are bringing a whole new experience to desktop Bible Software. Whether you just want to read with no distractions, study with the Resource Guide, take notes while you’re reading, or searching your library, you will find Olive Tree’s desktop app to be just as simple and beautiful to use as the app on your phone or tablet.
To keep up with our latest news please follow us on Twitter or become a fan on our Facebook Page
Bundles & More New Titles!
Aug 12th
New Bundles
NEW! Bible Study Toolkit
The Bible Study Toolkit is a collection of fifteen resources that will enhance your Bible study. Included are some of the most popular Bible translations, including the NIV. read more
NEW! Read and Study Collection
The Read & Study Collection is a great starting package containing several translations and study tools! It provides great Bible translations like the NIV, classic commentaries, dictionaries and devotions. read more
KJV Anniversary Collection
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Authorized KJV, Olive Tree now offers the KJV Anniversary Collection, a package of resources to help you make the most of your Bible study. read more
Featured Titles
NEW! Quest Study Bible Notes: The Question and Answer Bible
The Quest Study Bible Notes answers your questions.
Over 7,000 notes shed textual, theological, and historical light on the Bible’s most puzzling passages. Nearly 350 articles by top scholars address some of the most popular and provocative questions asked by Christians and non-Christians. An article index and expanded subject index help you quickly find the answers you’re looking for.
The Quest question-and-answer Bible Notes are like no other: study Bible notes that assists your journey to the meaning and heart of the Scriptures with notes that answer the questions you’ve always had about the Bible.
Quest Study Bible Notes is available now for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, and Android.
New! Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible
This resource will benefit everyone from the reader who has studied the Bible for years to someone who has just picked it up. The Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible features short summaries, timelines, maps and charts, quick details on the authors and purposes of books, and many other features that give the reader a solid grasp of the Bible’s overarching concepts.
Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible is available now for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, and Android.
NEW! The Essential Bible Companion
The Essential Bible Companion gives you what it promises: the essentials. The most vital, absolutely indispensable information you need for reading and truly understanding God’s Word. Developed by two world-class Bible scholars, this unique, easy-to-use reference guide gives you clear, crisp insights into the Bible book by book.
From Genesis to Revelation, each book of the Bible has its key details laid out for you clearly and includes:
- background information
- timelines
- important biblical characters
Striking a balance between too little and too much information, between the brief introductions provided in a Bible and the potentially overwhelming detail of a standard reference handbook, this well-designed, extremely helpful volume condenses the most important information in a highly visual, easy-to-understand format.
The Essential Bible Companion is a valuable resource for any Bible study. However you use it, this richly informative volume will assist you on your journey toward a well-grounded biblical faith.
The Essential Bible Companion is available now for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, and Android.
New Titles
- To the Work!, by D.L. Moody FREE!
- Galatians – Reformed Expository Commentary, by Philip Graham Ryken
- Esther and Ruth – Reformed Expository Commentary, by Ian M. Duguid
- Daniel – Reformed Expository Commentary, by Ian M. Duguid
- 1 Timothy – Reformed Expository Commentary, by Philip Graham Ryken
The following are available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch only. Android coming soon!
- Searching for God Knows What, by Donald Miller
- Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller
- Bonhoeffer, by Lynn Vincent, Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Android 4.5 Beta Release Notes
Jun 1st
Yesterday we released the first public beta version of BibleReader 4.5 for Android. This is a huge step forward, and we are very excited about the beta, the reception we have received and our upcoming Market release. While we don’t have the rest of our usual documentation or support behind this, I wanted to take a few minutes and post some of the highlights in this release.
First, you can’t help but see the great new User Interface. I love the new look and feel! It brings the familiar and usable iOS interface, and adds in a number of small changes that make it fit very well into the Android platform. If you tap on the main window, you will get the main tools laying over the top of your window, where you can find the Library button, that changes the book you are reading, the Go To button, that changes your location in the current book, and on the right are the Search, History and Ribbon buttons. You can also get to Search through the hardware search button if your device allows.
If you have never used the iOS versions of BibleReader, you may miss the split window divider at the bottom of the window. Just grab the two little horizontal lines at the bottom (they will turn blue when you have them) and drag upwards. Personally, I think this is the biggest jump forward in the new version, as it allows you to have a Bible and commentary open at the same time, or perhaps the Strong’s definition of the word you tapped in a Strong’s Bible in the main window. Don’t forget that we have the KJV Strong’s Bible available on the Android Marketplace for only $5.99 (https://market.android.com/details?id=kjvs.biblereader.olivetree). The Split Window is a huge jump forward for Bible reading on Android, and one of the primary things that sets this new version apart.
We have added highlights and ribbons to our already existing bookmarks and notes feature set. Collectively, the annotation system is a big new addition too. Ribbons are a new feature, recently introduced in BibleReader 5 for iOS, that basically serve the same purpose as the ribbon in your paper Bible. It’s a transient bookmark that can be added by just tapping the icon, and then removed just as easily by tapping it again. Where it’s better than a physical ribbon is that you can add lots. If your small group is working through one passage, your devotionals another and your church sermons yet another, you can have a ribbon for each one. You can always get to your ribbons (and all your annotations) through the My Stuff button in the main menu. To add highlights, bookmarks or your own notes, just tap the verse number, and choose the one you want. We do not have an ability at this time to select individual words, or multiple verses. Both of these features are on our list, and we’re working as fast as we can!
Also coming to the My Stuff screen is the Sync and Backup feature. You will be able to create a note (or bookmark, highlight or ribbon) on your Android phone, and synchronize it to our server, https://sync.olivetree.com and then pull it down onto your Xoom, iPad, iPhone or whatever other device you may have. We’re really excited about this, and it is coming in 4.5. It’s not in the public beta because of a last minute bug, but we’ll add it in soon again.
There’s so much more I could go on about, but I should probably get back to programming… those features and bug fixes aren’t going to program themselves. 
If you have feedback or bug reports, please send them to androidbeta@olivetree.com, or use the Feedback button in the menu in-app. Just remember, the more info you give us, the better we can reproduce what you’re seeing.
To leave comments please visit our Facebook Page
Coming Soon…Android Beta
May 10th
Well, we have some fun news to announce today. Our new Android BibleReader will have a beta available for download by May 31! Remember, this is a beta, so you can expect to find a few bugs, but for those of you anxiously chomping at the bit to find some more usability then I would encourage you to check it out.
4.5 update
- New User Interface
- Split Screen
- Annotation Sync (Notes, Bookmarks, Highlights, and Ribbons)
4.5.x Update
- Pop Up windows
5.0 Update
- Resource Guide
- User Interface Refinement
5.0.x Update
- Daily Reading Plans
- Learning Center
To leave comments please visit our Facebook Page
Android Preview
Apr 1st
Alright! Here are some preliminary renditions of the new Android BibleReader. If you have any thoughts, please leave your comments on our Facebook page.
Leave your comments on our Facebook page.
Latest Update Now Available on iTunes
Mar 28th
Click for details
Among several new features, we’ve brought back the multiple verse copy! You can also now set a default Bible translation for any verse hyperlinks.
NEW FEATURES
* Multi-verse copy when you select copy from a verse hyperlink
* On the iPad the library quick popover for the main window now has an all tab
* The library list view now has a tab at the top for all books, recently opened, and favorites.
* On the iPhone and iPod touch when you tap on the library on the main window it now goes straight to the full screen library.
* View note list by categories in split window on the iPad
* Sorting annotations by verse shows verse reference as subtitle item (rather than the date) and sorting by title shows content as subtitle.
* Bookmarks now store the first few words of the text they reference if book/chapter/verse based.
* Date references for annotations now show proper time based on local timezone.
* Lots more icons for notes.
* New default Bible setting for verse hyperlinks (advanced settings->Hyperlink Settings->Default Bible for Hyperlink)
* There is now a sermon section in the resource guide
* Charts and images now have a root level sections in resource guide
* Added Gesture Setting action for toggling toolbar. This is helpful for texts with lots of hyperlinks on the iPhone and iPod touch.
BUG FIXES
* Simply viewing a note no longer causes the updated date to change.
* Fixed large white space gaps at end of chapter
* Fixed a bug where doubled headings would sometimes appear on backwards scrolling
* Fixed a crash when tapping on the back arrow on popovers
* Fixed a bug where sometimes first line of chapter was missing
* A few more fixes for mixed right-to-left and left-to-right text
* Other small bug fixes
* Some performance and memory improvements.
Olive Tree’s first official Android tablet!
Feb 24th
With today’s release of the Motorola Xoom by Verizon, one of Olive Tree’s Android developers, Scott Currie, braved the foot of snow that fell last night here in Spokane to be one of the first to get his hands on one. Upon entering the Olive Tree office, the new Xoom found itself immediately surrounded by not only the Android development team but also our iOS and other department teams excited by the new addition to our expanding tablet family.
Within minutes of arriving Scott installed BibleReader for Android. This tablet is sleek! Actually having a “live” Android tablet in the office is only fueling our developer’s drive to bring Android BibleReader’s potential to fruition.
One of Olive Tree’s employees has installed BibleReader on his personal Notion Ink Adam, also an Android Tablet. The picture is a little out of focus, but you can still see the text.
Bible on Xoom
Zondervan Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Bible on Xoom
Greek New Testament on Xoom
slightly fuzzy picture of TDNT on the Notion Ink Adam
Olive Tree at Desiring God Pastor’s Conference
Jan 28th
This Monday, January 31, Desiring God kicks off their annual pastor’s conference. Olive Tree is privileged to have an informational booth alongside two other Bible software companies, Accordance and Logos. Our own Steven Cummings will be giving a presentation on Olive Tree software on Tuesday, February 1 at 8:45 pm in Auditorium 3 (next to the plenary sessions) and Daniel Scott will man Olive Tree’s booth. Be sure and attend that session to see the latest features and capabilities of how you can Mobilize your Bible study!
Below is Desiring God’s promo video for the conference.
iPhone, iPad Update to Verse Chooser
Jan 5th
From our wonderful users input, we are including the following updates as options in the BibleReader 5 ($.99 already out and free soon to come). Watch the App Store for your updates to take effect soon! The verse chooser will also be updated on the iPad.
Olive Tree makes iTunes Rewind 2010 list!
Dec 15th
Lots of excitement around Olive Tree this week…through your customer support we have made it into 8 category lists on the iTunes’ Rewind 2010! One of our iPhone apps made the top five ebook list!
Other significant categories Olive Tree made were: