Glo Bible App Review

I have a confession to make.  I no longer carry a Bible with me to church.

We have discovered a stunning Bible application.  The Glo Bible, by Immersion Digital.  Glo is an interactive digital Bible that brings to life the scriptures with high resolution images, HD video, maps, virtual tours, and customizable reading plans.  Glo also has social media features, so you can share your Bible study with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

The Glo Bible home screen presents the scriptures through a series of “lenses”.

Bible

Presents the biblical text in its standard or canonical order.  This is similar to the leather-bound book Bible.  The Glo Bible includes the New International Version, English Standard Version, The Message, and King James Version translations.  The New King James Version, New King James Study Bible, and the MacArthur Study Bible are available for an additional fee.

The Bible lens opens with a graphical representation of the 66 books of the bible.  Clicking on a book opens a chapter view, clicking on a chapter opens the bible viewer, presenting the text.  Once you are viewing the text, the lower third of the viewer presents study notes, personal notes, and artwork/photos.  The artwork and photos are beautiful high-resolution images of things like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  In the study notes section you’ll find the standard notes included with the different translations of the Bible.  You can make your own personal notes as well.

The lower third of the viewer can be minimized, allowing the viewer to be completely filled with the text.  This makes straight reading easier, as you are not turning the “page” as often with the full screen text view.

Timeline

Presents the biblical text in chronological order.  A timeline viewer is presented, and as you slide along the timeline, you see the books presented in the order of their writing.  The books are presented in logical groupings during the periods in which they were written.

Atlas

Presents the biblical text with geographical emphasis.  A map viewer is presented.  Clicking on a location brings up scriptures mentioning the location, articles about the location, photos of the location, artwork of the region, virtual tours, and additional maps of historical events in the location or region.

Topical

Presents biblical passages as a topical map.  A “star map” of topics is presented. You navigate through the topical map using a mouse or trackpad to select the topic for study.  Clicking on a topic in the “star map” brings up scriptures on the topic, articles on the topic, photos about the topic, related artwork, and additional maps of topical areas.

Media

Navigates the Bible through Glo’s rich media content.  You can browse maps, photos, paintings, and video presentations on the bible text.  The Media browser allows you to browse the Glo Bible media library without selecting biblical text, the Timeline, Atlas, or Topical information.  I found that this is where I discover the most new information. Just browsing through the media content, and calling up the information on a map, piece of artwork, or photo.  The virtual tours are available in this lens, as well as video content on a variety of topics.

Immersion Digital was founded in 2008.  Its flagship product is the Glo Bible.  Their goal is to bring the Bible to life through high definition video, images, animations, maps, and reading plans. 

Find it

Visit Glo Bible where you can download a free version. Glo premium is currently on sale for $34.99.  The additional translations are:

• New King James Version, $2.99
  
• New King James Study Bible, $19.99
  
• MacArthur Study Bible, $19.99
  

They have created an engaging Bible study tool that will (and has) fascinated and captivated our Bible students.  My 13-year-old son says “I love the Glo Bible”.

With this amazing Bible, I now carry my iPad to church.  Glo Bible is my Bible of choice.

~Steve keeps busy with five children and a job in information security. He has a second job as principal of the Hodgepodge homeschool and also writes for Habits for a Happy Home and Passionate Purposeful Parenting. You can find more of his technology reviews here at Curriculum Choice.