MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

Statch · 10-23-2011, 08:26 AM

There are basically two methods now. The first method uses Calibre, and will work for any ebook that doesn't have DRM. The second method stays entirely within the Amazon system and will also work for any ebook that doesn't have (non-Amazon) DRM, as well as for any Amazon DRM'ed book.

If you use Calibre, import the book into Calibre, and convert it to Mobi format. (If it's a Mobi book you've had for a while, you should re-convert it since it needs to have been converted to Mobi in Calibre since a particular version to make the sync work. If it doubt, just re-convert it -- no harm done.)

Then transfer the book to your Kindle and/or to any device on which you have the Kindle app. Now you can read the book on one device, put it down and pick up another device and go to the same page you were on with the other device. You do need to have an Internet connection on when you finish in one location and take up in another, since it syncs back to the Amazon server to update the last page read.

When you go to the 2d device, if it doesn't automatically find the last page read on the first device and ask if you want to go there, find the menu option that allows you to sync. It should happen then.

The other method: Amazon recently instituted a change in the way it handles personal documents, which could include non-Amazon books. When you email these documents to your Amazon email address, the documents stay on the Amazon server (and on your devices), and will be synced across devices the way any Amazon ebook is.

The advantage of the Amazon method is that (I believe) your annotations will sync too, and they won't using the Calibre method. The advantage of the Calibre method is that you have the power of Calibre to organize your books. A disadvantage of the Amazon method is the privacy issue of having all your books/documents there. That matters to some people, and not to others. You could also use both methods, and end up with a free cloud backup space at Amazon.

None of this will work for books that have non-Amazon DRM.

It's great to have different ways of doing this. I plan to stick with use of Calibre alone, since that's working fine for me. (I use SugarSync for backup.)

10-23-2011, 08:26 AM	#11
Statch Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 2084 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Georgia, USA Device: Kindle PW2, Samsung Galaxy 3, Kindle Fire HD	There are basically two methods now. The first method uses Calibre, and will work for any ebook that doesn't have DRM. The second method stays entirely within the Amazon system and will also work for any ebook that doesn't have (non-Amazon) DRM, as well as for any Amazon DRM'ed book. If you use Calibre, import the book into Calibre, and convert it to Mobi format. (If it's a Mobi book you've had for a while, you should re-convert it since it needs to have been converted to Mobi in Calibre since a particular version to make the sync work. If it doubt, just re-convert it -- no harm done.) Then transfer the book to your Kindle and/or to any device on which you have the Kindle app. Now you can read the book on one device, put it down and pick up another device and go to the same page you were on with the other device. You do need to have an Internet connection on when you finish in one location and take up in another, since it syncs back to the Amazon server to update the last page read. When you go to the 2d device, if it doesn't automatically find the last page read on the first device and ask if you want to go there, find the menu option that allows you to sync. It should happen then. The other method: Amazon recently instituted a change in the way it handles personal documents, which could include non-Amazon books. When you email these documents to your Amazon email address, the documents stay on the Amazon server (and on your devices), and will be synced across devices the way any Amazon ebook is. The advantage of the Amazon method is that (I believe) your annotations will sync too, and they won't using the Calibre method. The advantage of the Calibre method is that you have the power of Calibre to organize your books. A disadvantage of the Amazon method is the privacy issue of having all your books/documents there. That matters to some people, and not to others. You could also use both methods, and end up with a free cloud backup space at Amazon. None of this will work for books that have non-Amazon DRM. It's great to have different ways of doing this. I plan to stick with use of Calibre alone, since that's working fine for me. (I use SugarSync for backup.)