Reading an electronic book with basic page-turning software
is one thing. Allowing readers to interact with the text is something entirely
different. From desktops to iPhones and soon to iPads, Logos Bible Software is
making book studying an interactive endeavor. And that difference is what Bob
Pritchett says puts his company 18 years ahead of the e-book competition.
The president and CEO of the Bellingham-based business says
that with over 10,000 paper books all related to biblical study converted and
tagged in the Logos digital library, Bible study with Logos blows away normal
Kindle-like e-book reading.
If given one book to read cover to cover, the choice between
paper or e-book would simply be a matter of preference, Pritchett says. But if
he trucked in 10,000 paper books for additional research, there is no
comparison. Logos’ tagged e-books hunt down information within scholarly titles
and commentaries, enabling students of the Bible, including pastors, scholars
and lay people, to delve as deeply into the text as they desire. “It harnesses
a large digital library easily and that is a big difference for us from
everyone else in our space,” he says.
The Logos engine works nearly anywhere, from a customer’s
computer, any web-connected device, through a powerful iPhone application and
soon to a similar iPad app, all with a cross-platform license. Because of this
diversity, Logos isn’t reliant on the success of any one device, which keeps
Pritchett tempered on how the iPad will change his business model. He isn’t
sure—even though he is planning to buy an iPad for himself—if people will be as
tied to it as they are to their iPhones. His iPhone never leaves his side.
Ever. He can’t imagine that will be the case with his iPad. And it certainly
isn’t with his Kindle. So whatever the platform delivering Logos service, he
says it is all a “tool to help do more and better Bible study.”
And people are buying in. With over $20 million in sales in
2009, Logos has been growing since it was founded in 1992. The most rapid rise
has been in the last seven years, mainly because people are converting from
paper-based Bible study to electronic, Pritchett says. That has allowed Logos
to bulk up to 175 employees, mainly in software development (writing code),
text development (converting paper materials to electronic while providing the
referencing within) and customer service (there is free tech support for all
platforms).
Pritchett uses his personal Kindle to read novels, but says
that study is more involved than that—more than simple page turning. For
example, while reading a passage in the New Testament book of Matthew on an
iPhone, pressing down on the word “temple” will bring a bevy of information
about the word’s language origins and where it appears throughout the Bible.
With another finger stroke, customers are connected to 10,000 e-books,
literally at their fingertips, cross-referencing and letting the Logos software
give pertinent information on links to scholarly reports, translations,
analysis of word usage and more.
While the opportunity to utilize the iPad’s interactive
abilities is dandy, it is something Logos is already doing. In that search of
the word “temple,” graphs and charts are easily pulled out of reference
e-books. Interested in studying the Temple in Jerusalem?
Logos and its e-books will give you a full visual tour.
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| An image of the Holy Land during the time of the Two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, indexed to the relevant Bible passages in Logos’ software. |
“The Kindle just gives you a definition,” says Pritchett,
who sees Amazon as competition and has not made Logos’ material available for
the Kindle. “We are stepping way beyond that with a text comparison report,
multiple translations and the difference in wording between those translations.
It is a study tool, not just a reading tool.”
Logos offers a free software engine and a handful of free
e-books, but the power of study, Pritchett says, is in cross-referencing within
the Logos system. Entry-level packages give customers access to 80 e-books
($150). The most popular package, at $630, gives access to 475 books. And
access and prices go up from there.
There are competitors in the Bible market. E-Sword, for
example, has a product that is free and is geared toward non-English speakers
in the overseas market. But the products are very different. “E-Sword is for
those with little to no money, while Logos is for those with plenty of cash to
invest in their premier Bible library,” says Rick Meyers of E-Sword.
Competitors, including Amazon.com, also can’t offer the depth that Logos does
because of the cost and complexity of acquiring electronic rights to use the
massive amount of copyrighted materials in Logos’ library.
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| The Logos app for iPod and iPhone offers enhanced Bible study features. |
Logos launched the software’s fourth version last November,
the same day as its iPhone app, which has been downloaded tens of thousands of
times. Pritchett says that usage of the app, which Logos tracks, has been
promising, including the fact that usage spikes dramatically on Sunday mornings
and Wednesday evenings. “People are using their iPhone while in church,” he
says. “I don’t even bring my paper Bible to church anymore.”
Also, Logos syncs a user’s work. If a customer types notes
into their e-Bible on their home computer, they can read those notes on their
iPhone while sitting in a church service.
While Logos offers its books individually, the real goal is
for those books to be used as entry points to the larger wealth of materials on
the Bible. That is the Logos difference, Pritchett says.
Logos looked into taking its unique software engine outside
of the biblical realm, but realized that Bible study is one of the very few
areas in which a large number of adults are engaged in serious study. Other specialized areas that might
benefit from having a library of e-books at their fingertips, such as the
medical, legal and technical industries, are different because the data isn’t
as harnessed within books, but in databases. Meanwhile, Logos is finding plenty
of growth potential in the Bible market. The company will add another 3,000 to 5,000
e-books to its library in 2010 alone.
“We are really in a sweet spot,” Pritchett says of his
business model. “We are glad to see there is such excitement about our space
[electronic publishing], but they are 18 years behind.”