App Update + New App Released Today

The Update to version 3.4.9 should appear on your App Store sometime today.
Note: Unfortunately I discovered that the only way for me to push out an update to existing users, was to make the app available again on the App Store. As a result I did indeed make the app available again - but only temporarily. I also raised the price and posted a message at the top of the App Store to discourage new users from downloading the app. During this period existing users were able to update their Equipd. I have now disabled the app again - which means that users who were slow to upgrade missed out. If you missed out then I am sorry, but I did my best to announce the update and encourage users to upgrade. It was available for several days. My suggestion is to keep an eye out for the next update, version 3.5.0, that should be out soon, and I will have to follow exactly the same process...

After much deliberation I decided to push out an update to Equipd to restore it to working order for existing users. It took a lot of effort to get everything working again after the breaking changes on WOL, and I hope that this update will alleviate some of the frustration and panic many users have felt when their copy of Equipd stopped working - especially those in the foreign language field. 

Equipd is still not available for new users. And there are no changes in the overall status of Equipd. 

Users should also not expect there to be ongoing updates to the app. This is an exception, simply to restore the app to the status quo and stick to the stated objective of supporting Equipd until users "have another tool they can use to meet their requirements".

As mentioned, getting everything working again was a major task, and there are some side-effects and minor issues that I did not catch - but hopefully most things are working for you again.

Some minor tweaks were made to the app for this update that users should know about:

  • I have restored the permanent highlight of study material. In the last update, at the last minute I changed it so that the highlighting of selected paragraphs used for the study material disappeared after 5 seconds. This is no longer the default. There is an option in Admin > General for users who still want it to disappear after 5 seconds.
  • The "Songs" at the top of the Watchtower Quick View dropdown are no longer supported in newly cached Watchtowers.
  • The Bibles in Equipd have all been updated to match WOL. This means, for example, that the default Portuguese Bible in Equipd is now the latest NWT version - users should clear their cache of the Portuguese Bible in order to download and view the updated version. The older Portuguese Rbi8 is also available for side-by-side viewing.

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Meanwhile, in related news...


iTunesArtwork.pngNew "Equipd Bible" App - Available Later Today

I am proud to release a new app - the Equipd Bible app. This app is focussed on just the Bible functionality from the older Equipd app. Instead of being based on content from WOL, it is now a standalone specialised EPUB Reader. The app takes the previous Bible functionality to a new level with new features like:

  • Verse Notes - this does not work like the annotations when marking a publication in the older Equipd. Notes are against the verse itself. Tap on a verse number to add the note. Choose a colour. Use "double-quotes" around words or phrases in the verse to create links inside the verse
  • New Bookmarking - you can now group bookmarked scriptures by Topic / Category. And when viewing a list of bookmarks it shows you the full extract of the scripture. You can also share the scriptures inside a topic via email.
  • Offline Audio - you can now download ZIP files of MP3 audio in Safari and "Open in..." the new Equipd Bible app. Audio files need to be associated with an installed Bible EPUB.
  • ... and many other enhancements like support for Landscape orientation on the iPhone, accessibility improvements, support for Pinyin / Zhuyin / Sidney Lau above Traditional characters (not just Simplified), and more.

As this announcement is to users of the existing Equipd app I just want to reiterate that this new app is not an update to the older Equipd. It is a new app. It has one purpose ... the Bible based on EPUB files. It does not load other publications. It has no links to WOL or JW.org. In fact on the surface it appears highly generic and will come preloaded with Public Domain Bibles. It will not contain any JW Bibles by default - but you can manually go to JW.org and download EPUB files to install into the new Equipd Bible app yourself.

In the older Equipd there is a new option in Admin > About to "Transition to new Bible app". If you turn this on, and have the new app installed, then all links in the older Equipd that would normally open the Bible window will now instead flick across to the new app. And you can easily switch back using the integrated callback button in the Equipd Bible.

I hope this new app helps new users who could not download the older Equipd. And I hope for existing users of the older Equipd that the new app maybe paves the way forward to future updates and exciting opportunities.

Thanks once again for your patience and support.

Matthew

 

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PS: As part of this announcement I wanted to clarify that all support for the new Equipd Bible app will be via an updated www.equipd.me website to be launched later today. As the older Equipd is no longer available to new users, the www.equipd.me domain and related FaceBook and Twitter accounts will now be used to support the new Equipd Bible app. The new website includes a centralised Forum which should make it easier for me to collaborate and provide public-facing support to users of the new app. It will not be used for the older Equipd app - users of the older app should continue to use these forums for the foreseeable future.

 

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