Quote:
Originally Posted by BaenSidhe
Serious question. So I've bought a book for my (hypothetical) iPad from Amazon/Kobo/Sony/whoever. How do I get it to the iPad? Amazon's whispersync still work? Does every other ereader app have cloud support?
Do other tablets require sideloading of personal files or prevent you from dowloading off of the internet?
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Each ebookstore app does things differently, but Apple's new guidelines are against selling or setting up accounts, not in-app downloading/synchronization. (Yet.)
So yes, whispersync still works; you buy the book in the browser and it gets sent to your default reader/location. Then you fire up the Kindle app and it automatically downloads the first time you open it.
Other tablets do *not* require sideloading or prevent downloading but some dedicated readers do, not as a matter of policy, but usually through a lack of features. Like, when they lack wifi or the browser is hardwired to a few addresses.
Also, Cloud support is not at all common outside the big three dedicated reader brands, but it it is starting to spread. It is most common on the, ahem, open reader apps (fbreader, coolreader, aldiko, etc) on android, where most now offer OPDS support.
(
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/OPDS)
With other readers (Kindle, for one) and tablets, you can also use the browser to access a private repository. There are many tricks and support web sites out there that help link connected readers like Kindle to personal documents on cloud services like dropbox, but if you are even moderately computer literate you can do it yourself through ftp or with Calibre.
(
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Calibre)
Where these things become a competitive issue is with non-techies and newcomers, which to their credit, Amazon understood way back at the launch of the first Kindle. Others have ben iterating alternatives to whispersync since, with varying degrees of success.