lauren's library blog

As you might know, I got a Nook for Christmas last week. (I actually had to look it up to see that it was that recent… I just finished my first book on it last night!)

One of the features I was really interested in is that Barnes and Noble promised additional content/features when at the physical bookstore. I really like the idea of using technology to enhance the “real” world, so I was particularly intrigued with seeing this in action.

We were visiting family for the weekend, and my parents live just a few blocks from a Barnes and Noble that serves a much larger population than the one that ours does, so I figured it was a good excuse for an excursion. So, without much ado, here’s what I found (please pardon the photos, I couldn’t figure a way to do real screen shots, and this was the best I could do):

Special Offer 1: Look! Special offers!

When you first enter the store, and get on the network (which happened automatically for me), you’ll notice a B&N logo at the menu bar at the top of the page. This lets you know you’re officially able to access the Barnes & Noble specials. Something popped up right away that indicated how to get to the specials, but I wasn’t ready with the camera, or thinking about documentation at the time.

After that, I went to the shopping menu and found the specials at the bottom of the screen. You can see that here, with the “more in store” advertisement to the right. This basically just lets you know the types of things you’ll find in the in-store specials.

Special Offer 2: 10% off a CD

A good introduction, but nothing too exciting, so I paged over to the next specials screen. You can see the coupon on the left. I feel okay putting the picture up since to actually use the coupon you have to show your Nook to use it. However, I did think it was kindof a strange coupon for a Nook user. My guess is that the type of person who has switched to buying at least part of their library in electronic format probably has mostly moved past CDs to iTunes or MP3s. Of course, that’s not true across the board, but it seems like it mostly would be. I was kindof hoping for a free coffee or something. It would have been a nice move for the coupon to be something that wouldn’t cost them too much, but would be an immediate and obvious benefit for those who invested in the Nook. But really, in the scheme of things, no big deal.

The next three didn’t seem particularly enticing to me. I think they’re similar (or the same) as the ebook portion of the Barnes & Noble store. I couldn’t check to verify, though, since I was in store I only had access to this version of the pricing. Further investigation is needed to know if these were actually deals or just advertisements:

Special Offer 3: Sookie Stackhouse

Special Offer 4: NY Times Bestsellers

Special Offer 5: Thrillers

List of "More in Store," only seen in store

So, at this point, I wanted to test out downloading something from the in-store specials.  I used the “more in store” section to find a list of options.  I wasn’t particularly jazzed about the list, but I’m also not particularly mainstream in my reading habits. I did recognize several famous names on the list. So, I decided to attempt to download one to see what it was, how it behaved, and what it looked like once I left the store, and how it would display in the file system once I connected the Nook to my computer.

Network error

Instead I got a network error. (See on the left.) Not a huge deal, since I didn’t have my heart set on reading the content, but it could have caused a negative first impression had I had been really excited about it. We talked with customer service, not to complain, but to let them know, and they were very nice but it was clear this wasn’t a domain of their expertise yet.

So, overall experience: the in-store Nook options didn’t rock my world, but it was neat to see them in action. I hope that, as with so many things with the Nook, this gets better at time. So far, I’ve been really impressed with Barnes and Noble’s adaptation to consumer demands and feedback. Perhaps this is another area that will get an improved customer experience with time. The basic structure is totally there. It was easy to get on the network, didn’t require any help to understand how to access the features, and it was very intuitive and user friendly. A few little things (a coupon that would make sense for an ebook reader, a network that would allow you to download) would have made a huge difference in the experience. So, really, it wouldn’t take much. At this point I’m thinking of it as a useful exercise to get a glimpse of possibilities, but nothing that will actually drive me to enter the physical store.

So, that’s my two cents based on one trip to the bookstore. Anyone else have something different? Similar?

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1. My Nook Has Arrived!!
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4. Help Out our Library Friends at LFPL
5. Sometimes Apple Rocks, Sometimes it can Be Full of Fail