ReaderLink already distributes print books to clients like Target, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Kohls, Stop & Shop and Walgreens, among several others. With the new partnership, those stores can sell ebooks through their websites. According to the release, the partnership will “enable U.S. consumers to buy from any of the ReaderLink powered ebook stores and read all books from a single cloudbased personal library — all of your ebooks in one single vault.” The ebooks can be read through Txtr’s Android and iOS apps and through Adobe Digital Editions.

Txtr’s chief commercial officer Thomas Leliveld said:

“The U.S. market is dominated by two players, which makes it hard for others to compete, despite consumer demand. ReaderLink and txtr offer the non-trade and independent booksellers the opportunity to form a ‘virtual federation,’ and, as such, create a strong and viable third alternative for consumers.”

Leliveld also noted that the partnership will lead to “crossover” opportunities, like bundling of physical and ebooks and the chance to convert print readers to digital. “Nearly 2,000 merchandisers have the ability to tie physical and  digital offers together and to educate consumers about the most suitable reading devices at the point of sale,” he said.

txtr is backed by 3M and powers 3M Cloud Library, which distributes ebooks to libraries.

ReaderLink, which was formerly known as Levy Home Entertainment, recently partnered with On Demand Books, the maker of the print-on-demand Espresso Book Machine, to bring POD technology to Kodak Picture Kiosks in retail chains like CVS.

“We believe e-reading is a great tool for mobile operators to strengthen their relationship with consumers,” Txtr CEO Christopher Maire said at the Tools of Change Frankfurt conference on Tuesday. He explained that mobile phone operators who subsidize the cost of the Beagle will drive subscriber acquisition and stand out from other mobile carriers. They will also receive a cut of ebook sales.

While the Txtr is indeed small and light, it is a very barebones e-reader that does not include Wi-Fi, a built-in battery or other features that are common on the cheapest American e-readers like the $69 Amazon Kindle. Readers add ebooks to the Beagle (from Txtr’s Android-based store of 700,000 titles) by connecting it to their smartphone with Bluetooth or by using an Android app app. (An iOS app is planned.)

Don’t mistake the Beagle, which runs on two AAA batteries, for a Kindle competitor. Rather, it is aimed at global mobile phone users who don’t read ebooks already and who might not be able to afford a more expensive. “We’re after the 80 percent of of the cell phone market that aren’t digital readers,” chief commercial officer Thomas Leliveld told Publishers Weekly.

Txtr is talking to mobile carriers in China, Japan and Europe and hopes to roll out the Beagle to some countries by the end of the year.