sychronise with kobo app

[mdamsma]

Kobo advertise with the possibility for synchronise with every possible smartphone etc
They don't tell you that's only possible with bought books from kobo
i asked them how so, there answered that the books are different formatted
i think there some extra software lines that make that the books are synchronised with the app.
So here is the question is it possible that these lines are automatically put in the file by calibre so that these books also can be read on a iphone
sorry for my bad english
Menno

[robko]

The short answer to your question is NO. Part of the reason it doesn't work for non-Kobo purchased books may well be the formatting of the book, but it also relates to privacy and the fact that the information for your non-Kobo purchased books would have be transmitted to the Kobo servers. Canada has pretty strong privacy legislation and although it would probably be possible to program/design ways to comply with the legislation, it wouldn't be easy and likely not worth their while, as nice as the feature might be.

[davidfor]

No, it can't be done. The formatting is different and it is discussed here. But, that isn't the issue for syncing reading status. Kobo only sync the details for books they supply and send to your devices.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by mdamsma

Kobo advertise with the possibility for synchronise with every possible smartphone etc
They don't tell you that's only possible with bought books from kobo
i asked them how so, there answered that the books are different formatted
i think there some extra software lines that make that the books are synchronised with the app.
So here is the question is it possible that these lines are automatically put in the file by calibre so that these books also can be read on a iphone
sorry for my bad english
Menno

AFAIK, you can add epubs to your iPhone's Kobo app using iTunes.

What I think that other people are looking at for when they say syncing is to have reading position, bookmarks, annotations and so on synchronized across multiple devices for books that are not purchased from Kobo. While technically possible, I suspect that Kobo is not going to go that route. I can just see the lawsuits for violation of Canada's privacy laws.

Regards,
David

[mdamsma]

Oke that's a clear answer,

Thanks Menno

[Sharkus]

I'll chime in here (sorry for any re-iteration to points provided by others).

In regards to the Kobo iOS app, the sync of books, bookmarks, highlights and shelves will ONLY work on books that have been purchased from Kobo and are downloaded directly within the Kobo iOS application.

Side-loaded books; ie; epub or PDF files that have been added to the app via email, ftp, dropbox, iTunes, or other methods (downloading the acsm file using the "Adobe DRM ePub" button from the kobo website also counts as a side-loaded file) will NOT have the above functionality synced, nor will the books themselves be synced.

Part of the reason could be due to privacy laws (I cannot honestly say if that is the case), another could also be copyright reasons (again I cannot say if that is the case).

However, the main reason is a technical one. Each book on our site has a unqiue id. It is this ID that we use for the various sync tasks to ensure we're talking about the same book. As this ID is set by us, all devices and apps that get this book will end up with the same book, and therefore sync like features will work.

Side-loaded books will get a unique ID. If you delete and add the same book back, it gets a new id, we don't record anything specific about the book to keep a record of it.

The other question is, where exactly would we upload these books to? Our servers would be the logical place, but there is an obvious cost, both financially and technically to maintain such a system.