Xteink’s tiny e-readers are getting access to free books through Libby

The CrossPoint Reader firmware is getting plug-ins that add support for ebooks from Libby, Kobo, and other sources.

The CrossPoint Reader firmware is getting plug-ins that add support for ebooks from Libby, Kobo, and other sources.

One of the big tradeoffs with Xteink’s pocket-friendly e-readers is a lack of easy access to ebooks. On a Kindle or Kobo you can download tens of thousands of titles through each device’s respective online bookstores, but with Xteink’s devices you have to source DRM-free ebooks on your own. That’s about to change, as the developers of CrossPoint Reader , a free alternative firmware for the X3 , X4 , and X4 Pro , are introducing support for third-party plug-ins that will expand the e-readers’ capabilities. One of the first from the community will give the devices access to DRM-protected ebooks borrowed through OverDrive’s Libby library app , or purchased through bookstores like Kobo’s.

The new functionality is still in beta, but while the team behind CrossPoint Reader provided me with custom firmware I’ve been testing on the X4 Pro for the past few days, it’s now available to anyone who wants to try it . Getting ebooks from Libby onto the tiny e-readers isn’t as streamlined as using its mobile app or as simple as Kobo’s native OverDrive support, but it’s much easier than I expected. If you’re already comfortable with wirelessly transferring files to your tiny e-reader, loading ebooks from Libby isn’t much harder.

The first step is saying good riddance to the frustrating stock firmware on Xteink’s devices and installing the free CrossPoint Reader alternative. The easiest approach is to connect your e-reader to your computer with its USB-C cable, power it on, and then flash the new firmware directly through a browser using the CrossPoint Reader website that lets you select your specific device and which version of the firmware you want.

You then need to download and install CrossPoint Reader’s new Plugin Store, which is available here . Installation is as simple as unzipping a few files onto your e-reader’s microSD card, which will put a new Plugins section on the e-reader’s homescreen. It’s currently populated with a few different tools you can download, but the important one to install is the “Protected Content” plug-in. It runs through CrossPoint Reader’s built-in web server (which is probably much easier to use than you think) and allows Xteink’s devices to access ebooks protected by the Adobe Digital Editions DRM.

To get it all working you’ll need a free ByteBooks account (or you can convert an older Adobe Digital Editions account you haven’t touched in years) so you can login and authorize your e-reader to open DRM-protected ebooks. You’ll also need access to Libby itself on another device, which requires a library card to sign in. For several reasons, including the fact that Xteink’s devices use low-power ESP-32 processors, you’re not able to search or download ebooks from Libby directly on the e-readers themselves.

Once you borrow a book the Libby apps will let you download it as a protected EPUB file.