Not so long ago, e-ink devices were rare and fairly pricey. As they have become more common and cheaper, some cool form-factor devices have emerged that suffer from subpar software. [Concretedog] picked up just such a device, and that purchase led to the discovery of a cool open-source firmware project for this tiny gadget.
[Concretedog] described the process of loading the firmware, which is just about as easy a modification as one can make. You plug the e-ink display into your computer, visit a website, and can flash it right from there. Once the display is running the CrossPoint Reader firmware, it unlocks some new tricks on this affordable reader. The firmware lets you turn the device into a WiFi hotspot and upload books wirelessly, or it can connect to an existing network to add files that way. It also enables rotating the display and KOReader syncing if you have multiple devices you read from.
We love seeing the community step in and improve devices that are hardware-wise good, sometimes great, but come up lacking in the software or firmware department. Thanks [Concretedog] for sharing your experience with this device and the cool open-source firmware. Be sure to check out some other projects we’ve featured where a firmware tweak breathed new life into the hardware.
Supermarket price tags?
not with the aluminium shell and the multiple buttons + TF slot…
but yeah, I can definitely imagine that the e-ink panel in it is cheap thanks to price tags…
Great article. More like this please.
lol, funny thing, I bought that 2 weeks ago and yes, with crosspoint it’s awesome for a cheap device, had it for 48$ of the usual sources…
Recently I have purchased 40pcs 2.13 eink displays £0.3 each. I needed 2 for the project but when I did see the price, I have ordered “some” spares. :)
That’s pretty cool. Where did you find that deal?
You can find those on ebay usually when searching for like “electronic price tag bulk”
You might want to look at OpenDisplay. I also got some of the ones you likely got and writing firmware for them currently.
If it’s just wifi hotspot to upload files and to rotate display when reading, the current firmware for xteink supports it. My version I got 2 weeks ago have all this inbuilt.
Seconded. And where is the “report comment” link when you need it… (though to be fair, its disappearance here could be a side-effect of my various adblockers etc.)
(Ugh. That was actually posted as a reply to J. Sampson, above. That it appeared elsewhere is yet another quirk of HaD, I guess.)