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Experience All of YouVersion: Now Available in French

L’Appa Bible™ et YouVersion.com maintenant en FrançaisFor the first time ever, every part of YouVersion is now available completely in French: the interfaces at YouVersion.com and in the Bible App™, technical support, communication, Bibles, and so much more. Of course, French has been available at YouVersion.com for some time now, but that’s just one small part of what YouVersion has to offer.

French is YouVersion’s eleventh complete language launch. English was first, then Norwegian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, German, and most recently, Dutch. Today, we’re officially announcing many of the ways that you can engage with the YouVersion community—entirely in French:

French Menus, Buttons and Controls. Our incredible YouVersion volunteers have been working behind the scenes for months to translate the entire YouVersion user interface into French for your iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, or BlackBerry device. All you need to do is set your device’s default language to French. Or, if you have the latest Bible App for iOS update, you can change the interface language in your Bible App Settings.

Communication in French. Français is one of several languages you can select at the top right of the English version of our blog—or just go directly to the French version. Either way, you’ll find blog posts specifically for you, written in French. To ensure that you receive updates and other YouVersion communication in French, you’ll need a free YouVersion account, then visit Settings at YouVersion.com and select Français as your preferred language.

French Technical Support. If you have any questions about YouVersion.com or the Bible App, try checking the French version of our Technical Support site. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, contact us in French, and French-speaking YouVersion support volunteers will be happy to respond to you.

YouVersion’s ongoing mission is to make the Bible freely available to as many people as possible, no matter where they live or what language they prefer. Because the French language serves so many people all over the world, we’re thrilled to bring the whole YouVersion experience to French speakers, no matter where they call home:

French Speakers in France. According to The World Factbook, 62.8 million people live in France, making it the 21st most populous nation in the world. While France’s entire population speaks French, according to Wikipedia, French is actually the first language for many more people, as well—somewhere between 70 million and 110 million—with another 190 million beyond that claiming French as a second language.

French Speakers Around the Globe. Outside France, French is the native language of Monaco, Switzerland’s Romandy region, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, and Quebec and Acadia in Canada, as well as various other communities around the world. French is the second most common language in Canada, federally recognized as an “official” national language. And variations and different dialects of French are spoken in countries literally all over the planet.

Welcome to the YouVersion Family! We’re excited to welcome our newest friends, French speakers and readers, no matter where you live. In a few days, we’ll share more details on our blog about more that we have to offer you. In the meantime, we’d love for you to get started connecting with the YouVersion community on Facebook and Twitter. We’re so glad that you’re here!

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New Features and Fixes for Bible App for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)

Profile Settings page on the Bible App™ for iPhone v. 3.7Release 3.7 of the Bible App™ for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is available now in the iTunes App Store. We’re introducing two convenient new features in this latest release:

  1. User Profile View. Now for the first time, you’ll be able to review and change your account settings all in one place—like your name, your avatar image, your contact information, and more. You can even browse your Friends’ profiles, and the profiles of people who are following you.
  2. Sign Up With Google. If you already have a Google account, you can sign up for your free YouVersion account using your Google login, right inside the Bible App. This makes creating your account one simple step, since you won’t need to verify your email address.

We value your feedback! When the YouVersion community reports issues to us—whether through our Support website, Facebook, or Twitter—we try to investigate each one, prioritizing them according to which ones are affecting the most users. For example, here are the main challenges we’ve fixed in release 3.7 of the Bible App for iOS:

  • Language Change. When you changed languages in your Bible App Settings before, it could cause the app to crash.
  • Residual Popups. Sometimes on iOS 5, when a message popped up (such as from a launcher notification), you couldn’t make it go away.
  • Long Book or Chapter Display (iPad). When trying to select from books with more than 30 chapters, or from chapters with more than 30 verses, the iPad wasn’t correctly displaying all of them.
  • Main Reader View Distorted (iPhone). When you received a call or if you used your iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, the notification slide-in was compressing the main Bible Reader view.

Get Your Update Now:

If you already have the Bible App installed:

  1. On your Apple device, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Updates icon.
  3. Tap Update for the Bible App.
    OR
    Tap Update All.

If this is your first time installing the Bible App:

  1. On your Apple device, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Search icon.
  3. Search for “Bible”.
  4. Tap the Bible App from LifeChurch.tv.
  5. Tap the FREE button.
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Recap: Nov 30 YouVersion Webcast

It was so exciting to get together with thousands of our closest friends during our live webcast yesterday! We don’t take for granted all that God has done through YouVersion—and especially what He has done through you, the worldwide YouVersion community. It was a rare treat having the opportunity to address your great questions from #YouVersion on Twitter. (Sorry we couldn’t get to every one!) Thanks to your participation, #YouVersion even became a trending topic worldwide on Twitter!

If you missed joining with us live, we’ve put together a list of some of the high points for you, along with the complete event video:

Key YouVersion Links:

A Quick Review

Installs. In November of 2010, the Bible App™ was installed on 10 million unique devices. As of today’s webcast, it’s now been installed on more than 34 million. That represents 2 million installs… per month.

Bible Languages. We want to make the Bible freely available to as many people as possible, no matter where they live or what language they prefer. In November 2010, we offered Bible translations in 22 different languages. As of today’s webcast, we now have Bible translations in 61 different languages.

Bible Versions. When YouVersion first launched in 2008, we offered just 12 versions of the Bible. A year ago, YouVersion had 48 different versions of the Bible for to you to choose from. As of today’s webcast, YouVersion now brings you 187 versions. And more are on the way. Within the next few weeks, we’ll pass the 200 mark.

Reading Plans. As of today’s webcast, 52 partners are graciously providing the YouVersion community with more than 200 different reading plans, in many different languages. By the end of 2011, we expect to increase that number to 220.

Volunteers. Everything we do is accelerated through the passionate dedication of hundreds of volunteers, devoting themselves to serving the YouVersion community from literally all over the world. Our small team could never reach the numbers of people that we reach in partnership with you. If you’d like to see the many ways you can help, learn more at our brand-new volunteer website.

In a Minute. During the average minute: the Bible App is installed on 52 unique devices, 1,698 people open the Bible App to read the Bible, and people share 21 different passages on either Facebook or Twitter. And these are just a few examples. To help you really see how the Bible App serves the YouVersion community, we’ve prepared a comprehensive infographic that breaks down many of the different things that happen in the Bible App during just one minute.

Resources for Pastors and Churches. If you’d like to help the people in your church connect with the Bible more, we’ve created several tips, explanations, and tools you can use to help those in your circles better understand what the Bible App is, what it has to offer, and how easy it is to get.

Still to Come… We’re comprehensively updating YouVersion.com, working to make its feature set more consistent with what you’ve become accustomed to in the Bible App. If you have a free YouVersion account, we’d love for you to take a look at the beta version and let us know what you think. (Please understand: The beta is still very much a work in progress, and this is a limited-time offer. Don’t move all of your Bible engagement to this beta version!)

We never stop working on making the Bible App easier to use to connect with the Bible every day—more reading plans, more Bible versions, more devices, more robust tools, more of everything. Still, the most common request we hear is to make the Bible App easier to use as part of a group, so we’re adding community-oriented features to help you engage together. You should see an update to the Bible App for Android this week, and an update to the iPhone version soon. Both will allow you to view your friends’ profiles and connect more with your community.

Later we plan to add features that will allow you to set reminders to help you remember to get in your reading plan, and even to receive your reading plan selections through a daily email. As always, you’re in complete control of your YouVersion experience—you choose how you want to interact with the Bible App.

The Other 16. One in every 17 iOS devices (Apple iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches) already have the Bible App installed. And, one in 17 Android devices have also already installed the Bible App. That means that on each of these platforms, there are 16 people who still haven’t installed it on their device. But you can help! When you meet someone with a smart phone or mobile device, ask them if they have the Bible on it. And if they don’t, consider offering to help them install the Bible App. (Remember: It’s always completely free.) We’re working on a new tool that will give you an easy way to tell us about your 16. When you use it, we’ll send you a free t-shirt and some Bible App stickers.

What Can You Do?

  1. Engage. Is the Bible a part of your everyday life? If you haven’t already been using Reading Plans, consider signing up for your free YouVersion account and trying one. Reading Plans divide up the Bible into manageable portions, making them a great way you can establish—and keep!—a daily habit of spending time in God’s Word.
  2. Share. Share the Bible App and YouVersion with others. Help the other 16 find what you’ve already discovered for yourself!
  3. Join. The entire YouVersion community is powered by the passion of volunteers. Join us as together we pursue the vision of reaching the entire world with God’s Word. Even with the extraordinary volunteer community already partnering with YouVersion, it’s just not enough. We need literally thousands more. Please come and share your passion with us.
  4. Give Thanks. Look up your favorite Bible version in the Bible App. Go to any page of the Bible in the reader, scroll to the bottom, and look at the information about the organization who makes that version available. Please contact them to express your gratitude for their generosity—and perhaps even consider supporting their work financially. We couldn’t do what we do without them!
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12 Days of Christmas Come Early as NIV Made Available for Download

Green Download Button from the Bible App™For a limited time, you’ll be able to download the New International Version (NIV) for offline use in the Bible App:

Starting 12:00 AM Thursday, December 1 Central Time U.S. (GMT -6)
Ending 11:59 PM Monday, December 12 Central Time U.S. (GMT -6)

Once again, you’ll be able to download the NIV. If you missed your chance last time, or if you know someone who did, spread the word and make sure you take advantage of this opportunity. Special thanks go to Biblica and Zondervan for making the NIV available to the YouVersion community!

Note: When you look at the available versions on your device, remember to hit the “Refresh” button, to ensure that the list you’re seeing is the most current.

Downloading offline versions:

What does offline mean? Many versions in the Bible App™ are available to download to your mobile device, generously provided by Bible publishers free to the YouVersion community. (And several of these are available all the time—not just during promotions.) When you download a version, you can read it literally anytime, anyplace, even when you can’t connect to your service provider or to the Internet.

Below are links to detailed instructions on how you can download your free copy once the NIV becomes available again on Thursday, December 1. Mark your calendar, and be sure you don’t miss this opportunity!