Nooks £29 @ Argos, Sainsburys, Currys, Very

qwerty001

just got a £29 nook simple touch recently

they need to be registered over wifi before they will work

if you don't have access to a wifi network at home, like I don't, then use a free wifi hotspot such as at local library, cafe, macdonalds (where I went)

working perfectly now

reads epub and pdf

some pdfs display well, others not so well

I add my ebooks by transferring directly from my computer via the charging cable, I use Calibre ebook manager

you can also add your own pictures (to the screensaver folder in the Nook) to create your own screensavers

may be worth investing in one of these clip-on reading lamps

at £29 you can't go wrong

unsure

QWERTY
did you acquire your Nook and register it before last weekend? Because so far nobody I have found has been able to register one since then. Therefore they can't use their new nook. Nook Support admit there is a "server problem" which they seem to be taking an age to sort out.

Since Saturday, as far as I can make new users can configure their nook device to connect to wifi but they cannot sign up and register - rendering the device unusable! This is the case with both the devices I picked up on Saturday.

Barnes and Noble aren't exactly being open or helpful about this. I'm sure it will be resolved eventually but they are losing a lot of goodwill by hiding away and leaving new users in the lurch! The irony is they are going up against Amazon who offer fantastic customer service and support.

Big own goal for Barnes and Noble methinks...and one they seem determined to make worse!

qwerty001

I received my Nook Simple Touch a couple of days ago (Thurs 30th May 2013) in the morning

I don't have Wifi, and was unable to set it up on my laptop, so I did the following (after charging up the Nook for 3.5 hours):

1 - I went to the Barnes and Noble web site, and created an account (no credit card details needed)

2 - I then went to Macdonalds and switched on my Nook, connected (eventually) to Macdonalds' wifi hotspot (no food purchase needed)

3 - Whilst still connected to Wifi, I completed the registration on the Nook

4 - FINISHED

5 - I just add ebooks to the Nook via the supplied charger cable connected to my laptop

6 - I downloaded approx 20,000 free epub books (not just kindle) from project gutenberg (use the following: wget -w 2 -m -H http://www.gutenberg.org/robot/harvest?filetypes[]=epub.noimages&langs[]=en )

unsure

Qwerty,
you were lucky, the problem seems to have arisen over the weekend. Nobody has been able to sign in and register since and thanks to those nice people at John Lewis, technical support I now know why.

Once you connect your nook to wifi Barnes and Nobles' system interrogates it to get the serial number to make sure it's a legit device (presumably). The problem since at least Saturday is that the B&N database holding all the serial nos is not, for some reason, able to verify them against the new machines that people are trying to register so the registration process is aborted and the machine is useless!

Barnes and Noble know about this but they have chosen not to come clean and engage with their customers. Instead they've hidden their head in the sand which is making matters worse for their puzzled, frustrated and disappointed new Nook owners. John Lewis says B&N is working on the problem but can't or won't tell them how long they think it will take to sort out.

it's a textbook case of how to make a bad situation worse and alienate your customers instead of gaining their support and understanding. B&N has a lot to learn....fast!

Fleago

Thanks for the update, unsure. I've just come home from work and tried to register the Nook, but the same thing is happening. Plus, their "chat to a Nook expert" function is "temporarily unavailable" thanks to a "long wait time".

I agree about the poor customer service - they're aware of the situation, so why not put an announcement on the front of the website saying they are aware, are working on the problem and give a timescale as to how long they think it will be until it's fixed.

It's very frustrating. The Nooks might have been a bargain, but it doesn't excuse the way it's being dealt with.

unsure

Agreed Fleago,
They are currently not answering livechat, deleting comments from the Nook facebook page and simply not dealing with the situation properly. We're all grown ups we know that problems happen and you judge a company on how they deal with them. Hiding away and not admitting it just adds to customers' frustration and disappointment.

The website and the nook fb page should have a simple apology, explanation and estimate of when the problem might be solved. If John Lewis can tell me the first two bits - why the hell can't Barnes and Noble say SOMETHING?!!! if they think admitting a mistake is bad policy they should understand that upsetting your customers is much worse!

I've wasted so much time on this already, I'd return the nooks now except they are for my daughters who are still keen to have them. I'm glad I've got a kindle!

Fleago

Ok, another update. I got someone on the chat function. They said they were aware of the problem and working to fix it. They asked for the serial number and said it would be entered manually on their system and to try again to register in 48 to 72 hours.

So anyone in the same position, I would suggest doing the live chat and they'll hopefully take the serial number/s of your Nooks too.

I'm still miffed there is no notice on their site, but am happy to give them the chance to sort it via manually inputting the serial number, but if it's still the same after 72 hours, I'm sending the wretched thing back!

Fleago

My OH has a Kindle! I was seduced by the bargainous Nook, but I'm really beginning to wish I'd just got a Kindle too!

I just kept pressing the live chat button until it asked for some details before connecting me.

genius149

Can someone post a link for the b&n website as I can only find the us website (or is that the only one?)

Fleago

Here's the link, genius149 - Nook UK