MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Touch B&N Nook Simple Touch Fire Sale Rip-Off

stio · 06-05-2013, 01:25 PM

Like many others [judging by their rapid selling out] I was inspired by the recent firesale on Nook Simple Touches [hereinafter referred to as Nooks], which were going for £29 in the UK, last month.

Thinking that "for £29 a pop, you can't go wrong", I bought two of these gadgets and have had a month now to evaluate them. My conclusion is that, even for £29 a pop, you most certainly CAN go wrong:

* On arrival, both Nooks revealed themselves to have been built in 2011, so had been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere for two or more years.

* Far from B&N's claim that the batteries will last for two months with half an hour's reading per day and a similar amount of WiFi use, I have found that on both my Nooks, the battery will run completely flat in about 3 or 4 days –even with WiFi turned off and the Nook being completely unused. That's worse battery life than my bloody iPhone! [Incidentally, both Nooks had vastly different serial numbers, so this is not a case of one bad batch here].

* B&N have completely ignored two polite emails I've sent them throught their support address, enquiring about having the batteries or the Nooks replaced. Their customer service seems non-existent.

If my experience is the norm, rather than an exception, I think it's extremely cynical of B&N to perpetrate what is tantamount to fraud on the buying public. It seems to me that —knowing Li-ion batteries have a shelf life of not much than three years— B&N have cleared out a load of old Nooks with age-degraded batteries at a bargain basement price, without informing customers that the Nook they would receive is effectively no longer fit for purpose.

I wouldn't mind so much if I was only getting three-quarters or even half the claimed battery life, but 4 days equates to a fifteenth of what B&N advertise —and that's with the Nook not even being used, just sitting on standby.

Has anyone else who thought they were snapping up a £29 bargain been similarly disappointed with what they received –or am I just exceptionally unlucky?

06-05-2013, 01:25 PM	#1
stio Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	B&N Nook Simple Touch Fire Sale Rip-Off Like many others [judging by their rapid selling out] I was inspired by the recent firesale on Nook Simple Touches [hereinafter referred to as Nooks], which were going for £29 in the UK, last month. Thinking that "for £29 a pop, you can't go wrong", I bought two of these gadgets and have had a month now to evaluate them. My conclusion is that, even for £29 a pop, you most certainly CAN go wrong: * On arrival, both Nooks revealed themselves to have been built in 2011, so had been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere for two or more years. * Far from B&N's claim that the batteries will last for two months with half an hour's reading per day and a similar amount of WiFi use, I have found that on both my Nooks, the battery will run completely flat in about 3 or 4 days –even with WiFi turned off and the Nook being completely unused. That's worse battery life than my bloody iPhone! [Incidentally, both Nooks had vastly different serial numbers, so this is not a case of one bad batch here]. * B&N have completely ignored two polite emails I've sent them throught their support address, enquiring about having the batteries or the Nooks replaced. Their customer service seems non-existent. If my experience is the norm, rather than an exception, I think it's extremely cynical of B&N to perpetrate what is tantamount to fraud on the buying public. It seems to me that —knowing Li-ion batteries have a shelf life of not much than three years— B&N have cleared out a load of old Nooks with age-degraded batteries at a bargain basement price, without informing customers that the Nook they would receive is effectively no longer fit for purpose. I wouldn't mind so much if I was only getting three-quarters or even half the claimed battery life, but 4 days equates to a fifteenth of what B&N advertise —and that's with the Nook not even being used, just sitting on standby. Has anyone else who thought they were snapping up a £29 bargain been similarly disappointed with what they received –or am I just exceptionally unlucky?