App that syncs across all devices

[zamboknee]

I get a lot of ebooks NOT from iBooks or Kindle and I’m trying to find an app that will allow me to sync across an iPhone and an iPad.
For instance:
Download book A on iPad , open it an app, read through to page 43.
Flash to later in day, open the same app this time on my iPhone and continue reading that same book at page 43.

Given that I have the latest iOS for both devices, is there an app that will do this for me?

I’ve downloaded the app Marvin 3 but haven’t done into it yet and the dev hasn’t gotten back to me yet but any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you

[CWatkinsNash]

FBReader has sync. The free iOS version is limited to 10 books so you can try it out, unlocking the full version is $3.99.

https://fbreader.org/iphone

[haertig]

You wouldn't think this would be difficult to do. But the lack of widespread, workable solutions makes me think it must be. I would think a simple meta-data field in the EPUB/AZW file for the book could contain "current byte count" (where you are in the book). Applications would need to read/write this meta-data field in real time. Then, to make the book cross-device all you would need is a standard file syncing/sharing system, of which there are a bazillion out there.

Current solutions to this problem use something similar to a byte count I am sure, but they store that on a proprietary middle-man server that is application specific. And that middle-man server is designed to tie you into the applications infrastructure (with the primary goal being profit for the developer, not your convenience as a customer).

So when you want a solution that will work for eBooks "NOT from iBooks or Kindle", those developers are going to laugh in your face, since their entire goal is to tie you into their platform in the first place.

That's why I like the idea of a meta-data field in the book. Since the current reading location travels around with the book file, you can transfer that book file many different ways. Dropbox, email, a home FTP server - many ways. The downside is that you are slinging around an entire books worth of data rather than just a few bytes to define the current page. But eBooks are very small (usually) in the grand scheme of things. Just looking at one webpage in your browser probably uses more data than an entire eBook.

More robust and feature-laden would be an agreement on a "current reading page" protocol between device and application developers. Part of that protocol would be a user-definable storage/syncing location (Dropbox, personal server, etc.) that understands the protocol. But this will never happen, since the primary goal of all the big players is to lock you into their infrastructure for profit, not make things better for you.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by zamboknee

I get a lot of ebooks NOT from iBooks or Kindle and I’m trying to find an app that will allow me to sync across an iPhone and an iPad ...

Given that I have the latest iOS for both devices, is there an app that will do this for me?

Hyphen reader will sync via iCloud. MapleRead will sync via their private server (you have to sign up for an account).

I'm still on iOS 12, so can't say for sure it will work on iOS 13, but I would think so.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by zamboknee

I get a lot of ebooks NOT from iBooks or Kindle and I’m trying to find an app that will allow me to sync across an iPhone and an iPad.
For instance:
Download book A on iPad , open it an app, read through to page 43.
Flash to later in day, open the same app this time on my iPhone and continue reading that same book at page 43.

Given that I have the latest iOS for both devices, is there an app that will do this for me?

I’ve downloaded the app Marvin 3 but haven’t done into it yet and the dev hasn’t gotten back to me yet but any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you

Marvin's pretty much abandoned at this point so I doubt you'll get a reply.

That said, it does support reading position and bookmark syncing (stored in iCloud). Doesn't sync highlights though but it does provide plenty of export options.

Thus far, it appears all of Marvin's functions still work fine on iOS 13.

Hyphen supports iCloud syncing of books, last read position, bookmarks and annotations via iCloud. If Marvin were to stop working, that's what I would use.

[kyrilson]

I have my books converted to ePub and mobi in Calibre, and the Calibre library is synced to Dropbox.

Then whenever I want to read a book, I open the Dropbox app on my iPad or iPhone and open the ePub in FBReader. The ePub syncs between both seamlessly. You can also use iBooks this way (I used to use that, but switched to FBReader a while back).

[rem736]

google play books syncs across devices. but you must load your drm-free epub up to google's server for that to happen. google will allow you to upload your own books to its server.

i'm sure there are others. just not sure what others besides the kindle app.

but whatever the app is, i'm sure that in order to do this, they have to be synced to a server. you simply can't have the same book side-loaded on two different devices and hope that one device will be able to send the last read location to the other.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Hyphen reader will sync via iCloud. MapleRead will sync via their private server (you have to sign up for an account).

I'm still on iOS 12, so can't say for sure it will work on iOS 13, but I would think so.

It does. I’ve been very happy with Hyphen and its syncing (three devices)

[Lparsons21]

Apple’s iBooks/Books app is the simplest I’ve found to do this. I just add an ePub to the app on the device I’m using and it syncs across all my other Apple gear that has iBooks/Books on it.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

It does [work with iOS13]. I’ve been very happy with Hyphen and its syncing (three devices)

Good to know, thanks! I've been a little concerned about Hyphen as the developer hasn't made any updates for over 2 years. Then again, it works fine, so no pressing need for updates

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Good to know, thanks! I've been a little concerned about Hyphen as the developer hasn't made any updates for over 2 years. Then again, it works fine, so no pressing need for updates

I’ll keep using it until it no longer works, and then I’ll be on the hunt for something else. I just hope that it gets updated for iOS updates, if one of those causes a crash in the future.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

I’ll keep using it until it no longer works, and then I’ll be on the hunt for something else. I just hope that it gets updated for iOS updates, if one of those causes a crash in the future.

That's my approach with regards to Marvin. I'll keep using until it stops working. Marvin syncs well enough, or at least well enough for my needs. I sync between an iPad pro and an iPad mini on a regular basis.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

That's my approach with regards to Marvin. I'll keep using until it stops working. Marvin syncs well enough, or at least well enough for my needs. I sync between an iPad pro and an iPad mini on a regular basis.

Same here.

I recently got the new 10.2" iPad (2160x1620). Marvin 2/Classic looked like a blurry, blown-up version of the 9.7" screen but happily, Marvin 3/sxs remains sharp and clear despite not being optimized for this resolution. Guessing the latter supports adaptive layout to an extent so that's one less worry when upgrading devices.

[vikarti]

In addition to all other listed options, did you tried:
- Bookfusion (bookfusion.com) - iOS app (+web app + android app), idea is that your books are in the cloud first and you download them locally. Bookfusion some issues which shouldn't be a big problem unless you read A LOT of books at mostly same time at and your library contains A LOT of book. It's subscription based (free until you hit limits) and have rather responsive dev team.

[mdclanahan]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Marvin's pretty much abandoned at this point so I doubt you'll get a reply.

That said, it does support reading position and bookmark syncing (stored in iCloud). Doesn't sync highlights though but it does provide plenty of export options.

Marvin 3 will, in fact, sync highlights between iOS devices. I discovered the feature yesterday. From your library, long-press the book whose highlights/annotations you want to sync. Choose “Share or send,” then “Annotations (Marvin —> Marvin), then Airdrop to the device you want to sync them to. The second device will automatically open Marvin and give you the option to copy only new annotations/highlights or overwrite the existing ones.