[Android App] Coming: Android app to connect as a device to calibre using wifi

[chaley]

My son and I are almost finished with an Android app that can connect to calibre as a device without using a cable, instead using wifi. This post is both an early announcement and a request for comments.

Calibre currently supports devices in two ways. The first is by connecting the device to the computer with a USB cable. When a device is connected this way, calibre is in charge. One uses calibre to send books to the device, delete books from the device, etc. The "on device" checkmarks show in the library when using this method.

The second way of connecting is by using calibre#s content server. When connecting this way, the device is in charge. The user taps/types on the device to navigate through calibre's web pages, getting books etc. There is no "on device" indication, either in calibre or on the device.

One problem becoming more and more common with the first method, and a major driver for this app, is that newer Android devices cannot be connected to calibre by a cable. These newer versions of Android (versions 3 and up, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jellybean) do not support being connected as a "disk drive", something calibre requires to be able to "see" the device. The app we are developing gets around this problem by connecting to calibre wirelessly (wifi, no cable).

In addition to connecting as a device, the app supports the second method, connecting to calibre's content server. It provides a table-like browsing interface.

Some features of the app:

• Simplicity of setup. There is no requirement to enter/see/change/configure IP addresses, ports or what-have-you when using the app on the same network as the computer running calibre. All you need to do is have calibre running, then start the app and press one of the 'connect' buttons.
• Support of calibre's device-connection functionality. For example, when the app connects to calibre, news will be downloaded, reading lists will be synced (if you use that plugin), and you can add/delete books. The on-device markers will be shown. For the technical amongst you, driveinfo is supported.
• Display (on the device) the list of books currently on the device. There is no need to be connected to see this information.
• Support of calibre's content server. The app keeps track of what books are on the device regardless of whether a book was transferred using the content server or while connected as a device.
• When using the content server, the app will indicate whether or not a book in that calibre library has already been downloaded to the device.
• Saved searches stored on the device that are used when connected to the content server. The idea is to simplify seeing lists of books. This and the "already downloaded" indicator make it easy to check whether all the books of interest have already been downloaded. For example, if you use the reading list plugin and its feature to keep a custom column up-to-date with list changes, you can easily search for books on your list that you have not already downloaded. It is equally easy to do the same thing using tags or some other method.
• Destination folders for books are controlled by the app. When downloading, the destination folder for a book can be selected based on the book's extension. This means (for example) that epubs can go to one folder, mobis to another, and pdfs to a third, which is important if you use reading apps for different formats. Because the app controls the destination, different devices can use different folders.

Some features we hope to have:

• Display a "details" view of a book, including custom column metadata
• Invoke a reader app installed on the device to open a book.

If things go well and if there is sufficient demand, we will look at eventually directly supporting some reader apps. For example, one can imagine inserting the books directly into Aldiko's database.

We don't yet have screen shots for the app that are ready to share. The attachment shows the calibre screen when the app has connected as a device.

This Android app, including both the calibre device and the content server interfaces, will be priced at $2.99. It will be available (we hope) before the middle of August, initially on Google Play (ex Android Market). It will be available on Amazon's App Market once the necessary approvals are obtained.

Comments?

[Piper_]

Awesome. (I'd gladly pay to beta test!)

[Hondo1]

Count me in! Have been struggling with ways to get books from my Mac to my Nexus 7. Please update us here when available for purchase.

[DoctorOhh]

I guess it's time to finally bye that Nexus 7.

[chaley]

Thanks all for the good wishes and offers. We will definitely get back to you.

We are currently testing on galaxy nexus phones, a nexus 7 (my son got one when he was at the Google I/O conference in June), and an HTC Hero (*old* phone running 2.1) to ensure backwards compatibility. Once these are working to our satisfaction, we will test on a Kindle Fire (required for Amazon approval) and some Samsung and HTC gingerbread phones (V2.3). I don't think that we have access to any Honeycomb (V3) tablets, but I suspect that there aren't a lot of them remaining in the wild.

I suppose that I shouldn't be so free with the "we"s. I am doing the calibre programming required by the app, and testing the app on my galaxy nexus. My son is doing the Android work, which is good because unlike me he is skilled in that arena. His company, MultiPie Ltd, will handle distribution, development, and maintenance of the app.

[Gunnerp245]

Excellent. What will be the range of android versions it will run on?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Gunnerp245

Excellent. What will be the range of android versions it will run on?

We are testing on V2.1 (Eclair) to V4.1 (jelly bean), although as I said in my earlier post I am not sure if we have a V3 (honeycomb) device in hand.

It could be that some features won't be available on the older versions if working around missing newer android functionality will be too complicated. This is something my son knows a lot more about than I do. In any event, version differences will be made clear here and on market once we are sure.

[Steve_Haley]

Originally Posted by Gunnerp245

Excellent. What will be the range of android versions it will run on?

Currently it's compatible with 2.3/Gingerbread all the way up to 4.1/Jelly Bean. As my father wrote, I've got a fairly large collection of Android devices to test on (including a Honeycomb tablet!) so we'll be able to make sure it's compatible with all devices running one of those versions.

I'm also going to aim to make it compatible with earlier versions than Gingerbread, but that's going to require rewriting some of our network code. It should be possible, and I'll give more information on that once I'm further along.

Thanks all for your interest in the app!

[Mr. Goodbar]

This is fantastic. I would be happy to test between calibre on a mac and a Tab 7.7 and Galaxy SIII.

[chaley]

We are at the point where the messy real world is impinging on my sanitized view of reality.

Question 1: would you prefer that we released ASAP a version that connects as a device but has no support for the content server, or instead that we wait for a release that supports both device and content server connectivity in the initial version?

Question 2: are any of you running calibre on a traveling computer such as a laptop that connects to public wifi networks that should be considered as not secure?

Question 3: do any of you have more than one computer running calibre to which you might want to connect your smart device?

Thanks in advance.

NB: if the first release is device-only, content server support would be provided later as a free upgrade.

[Mr. Goodbar]

I would vote for earlier release with free upgrade to content server later.

I have run calibre on my laptop in the past, but currently have it primarily on my iMac since I no longer travel like I did in the past. I would expect we have some frequent travelers out there who are likely running it on their laptop.

[rita book]

Just got the Nexus and it is great! Would love to test or buy your app!!!

Right now, I am emailing books form Calibre to my Kindle account and sending them to the nexus---a bit convoluted....

[rita book]

Originally Posted by chaley

My son and I are almost finished with an Android app that can connect to calibre as a device without using a cable, instead using wifi. This post is both an early announcement and a request for comments.

Calibre currently supports devices in two ways. The first is by connecting the device to the computer with a USB cable. When a device is connected this way, calibre is in charge. One uses calibre to send books to the device, delete books from the device, etc. The "on device" checkmarks show in the library when using this method.

The second way of connecting is by using calibre#s content server. When connecting this way, the device is in charge. The user taps/types on the device to navigate through calibre's web pages, getting books etc. There is no "on device" indication, either in calibre or on the device.

One problem becoming more and more common with the first method, and a major driver for this app, is that newer Android devices cannot be connected to calibre by a cable. These newer versions of Android (versions 3 and up, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jellybean) do not support being connected as a "disk drive", something calibre requires to be able to "see" the device. The app we are developing gets around this problem by connecting to calibre wirelessly (wifi, no cable).

In addition to connecting as a device, the app supports the second method, connecting to calibre's content server. It provides a table-like browsing interface.

Some features of the app:

• Simplicity of setup. There is no requirement to enter/see/change/configure IP addresses, ports or what-have-you when using the app on the same network as the computer running calibre. All you need to do is have calibre running, then start the app and press one of the 'connect' buttons.
• Support of calibre's device-connection functionality. For example, when the app connects to calibre, news will be downloaded, reading lists will be synced (if you use that plugin), and you can add/delete books. The on-device markers will be shown. For the technical amongst you, driveinfo is supported.
• Display (on the device) the list of books currently on the device. There is no need to be connected to see this information.
• Support of calibre's content server. The app keeps track of what books are on the device regardless of whether a book was transferred using the content server or while connected as a device.
• When using the content server, the app will indicate whether or not a book in that calibre library has already been downloaded to the device.
• Saved searches stored on the device that are used when connected to the content server. The idea is to simplify seeing lists of books. This and the "already downloaded" indicator make it easy to check whether all the books of interest have already been downloaded. For example, if you use the reading list plugin and its feature to keep a custom column up-to-date with list changes, you can easily search for books on your list that you have not already downloaded. It is equally easy to do the same thing using tags or some other method.
• Destination folders for books are controlled by the app. When downloading, the destination folder for a book can be selected based on the book's extension. This means (for example) that epubs can go to one folder, mobis to another, and pdfs to a third, which is important if you use reading apps for different formats. Because the app controls the destination, different devices can use different folders.

Some features we hope to have:

• Display a "details" view of a book, including custom column metadata
• Invoke a reader app installed on the device to open a book.

If things go well and if there is sufficient demand, we will look at eventually directly supporting some reader apps. For example, one can imagine inserting the books directly into Aldiko's database.

We don't yet have screen shots for the app that are ready to share. The attachment shows the calibre screen when the app has connected as a device.

This Android app, including both the calibre device and the content server interfaces, will be priced at $2.99. It will be available (we hope) before the middle of August, initially on Google Play (ex Android Market). It will be available on Amazon's App Market once the necessary approvals are obtained.

Comments?

Originally Posted by Steve_Haley

Currently it's compatible with 2.3/Gingerbread all the way up to 4.1/Jelly Bean. As my father wrote, I've got a fairly large collection of Android devices to test on (including a Honeycomb tablet!) so we'll be able to make sure it's compatible with all devices running one of those versions.

I'm also going to aim to make it compatible with earlier versions than Gingerbread, but that's going to require rewriting some of our network code. It should be possible, and I'll give more information on that once I'm further along.

Thanks all for your interest in the app!

I have the Google Nexus: Need to test?

[Steve_Haley]

Originally Posted by rita book

I have the Google Nexus: Need to test?

Which Nexus device are you referring to? "Nexus" is just the brand name for Google's own range of Android devices. I've got a Galaxy Nexus (phone), and a Nexus 7 (the new tablet). Thanks for the offer though - regardless of which device you have, we'll certainly appreciate usability testing. It's one thing for the app to make sense to us developers, but quite another for it to make sense to everyone else

[Hondo1]

I have the new Nexus 7 and I'm currently using it on my Mac laptop, which is my main computer, but I'm also running Calibre on an iMac, which I occasionally like to access books from. My database resides on Dropbox, so I'm not sure how that might affect things regarding your new app.

Even when I'm out and about, I don't connect to insecure wireless networks. If I'm in Starbucks for example, I'll still use tethering on my iPhone rather than the free wifi, as I can secure it.

I would prefer that you release a version ASAP even if it means no content server right away. I do have one question abut connecting to the device: will the connection only be available with a USB cable, or is wifi/bluetooth a possibility?

I would also like to throw my hat into the ring to be a beta tester!

Thanks.