Why B&N Nook is failing.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Wow. Why?

I started buying ebooks many years ago (2003?) and I very rarely buy a print book. I can't imagine going back to print books myself.

The ebook sales figures (once you include independents and small publishers!) don't back up your anecdotal experience.

There are lots of personal reasons for drifting back to print, and I suspect a lot of them are generational.

I grew up with physical books and never lost a love for sitting in my library and reading. Some people have a "cave" for TV or video, mine is for books (no TV allowed). I like to look at the books and recall, for example, when I first read a particular book to my grandchildren.

When the grandchildren come to visit, we play board games on the library carpet and when it is time to wind down, they run to the bookcase dedicated to books for them and pick out books for me to read to them (they are not yet old enough to read themselves).

When I sit in the library, I can glance at the book spines and recall content and even pull a couple off the shelves to search for an answer to a question.

I admit I like the tactile sensation of handling a physical book; ebooks are both ephemeral and impersonal. Hardcovers, which is primarily what I buy, are readily found on my bookshelves; ebooks become more difficult to find absent extensive cataloguing as the number of ebooks grow.

When I read a book I think one of my children will like, I can hand it to them. I don't have to give them my reader and they don't have to have a compatible reader or convert a de-DRMed ebook. When they finish the book, they can pass it on as well.

I prefer to own my books, not lease them.

There is something very impersonal about giving someone an ebook.

The list goes on. I understand that for the younger generations many of these reasons don't seem valid, but for me and my friends, they are. (We also subscribe to print newspapers and never read the daily news online. We prefer to get away from our computers, not have them attached to our hips.)

My friends give me similar reasons for their return to print.

[pdurrant]

Thanks! I do agree that books for young children are best as print books.

But for my own reading I vastly prefer my Voyage.

[Blossom]

I met with some ladies yesterday from a online book club at our local B&N. I haven't been to one since 2011.

The Nook counter was no where to be seen. Now I didn't search the whole store but it was no where in the front or center.

When I explained to the ladies that Nook is probably on its way out some jaw drops. They couldn't believe it was possible and one refused to believe their Nook Library could disappear.

One lady took my advice on how to back her books up.

While there we waited​ over an hour for a table at the cafe which didn't happen. So we all stood in the romance section just talking. A B&N working came over and politely hinted for us to leave. We told them we were a book club and waiting for a table to open up. (We had our book club shirts on.) He couldn't help with that but they were not happy with us looking at books and talking.

No one was trying to get around us. We weren't really in anyone's way. Once we moved out of the aisle we were in everyone's way so we left and went to the mall's food court.
Which was so loud we could barely hear each other.

We won't do that again.

Sent from my XT1528

[MGlitch]

Yeah in many stores they're downplaying the Nook physical footprint as much as possible. The Nook table was probably in the back of the store if it was still there at all. I know the Nook desk in my local bn has moved from a large space in the front of the store to a significantly smaller space in the middle of the store

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I met with some ladies yesterday from a online book club at our local B&N. I haven't been to one since 2011.

The Nook counter was no where to be seen. Now I didn't search the whole store but it was no where in the front or center.

When I explained to the ladies that Nook is probably on its way out some jaw drops. They couldn't believe it was possible and one refused to believe their Nook Library could disappear.

One lady took my advice on how to back her books up.

While there we waited​ over an hour for a table at the cafe which didn't happen. So we all stood in the romance section just talking. A B&N working came over and politely hinted for us to leave. We told them we were a book club and waiting for a table to open up. (We had our book club shirts on.) He couldn't help with that but they were not happy with us looking at books and talking.

No one was trying to get around us. We weren't really in anyone's way. Once we moved out of the aisle we were in everyone's way so we left and went to the mall's food court.
Which was so loud we could barely hear each other.

We won't do that again.

Sent from my XT1528

Once a corporation forgets what made them successful, it's pretty hard to pull out of the death spiral.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Once a corporation forgets what made them successful, it's pretty hard to pull out of the death spiral.

B&N botched nook (eInk) from day one. The interface is awful, the partitioned memory is awful, and off shape/feel is awful and the buttons are too hard to press. It didn't get much better from there.

[MGlitch]

I'd agree that the first generation Nook was horrible in all those regards. However the NST, and NSTG saw notable improvements in UI, and the physical design. The Nook Glowlight was a backslide in a few features and the Nook Glowlight Plus is just bad.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

B&N botched nook (eInk) from day one. The interface is awful, the partitioned memory is awful, and off shape/feel is awful and the buttons are too hard to press. It didn't get much better from there.

I'm thinking I understand how you got your handle. Different people like different things.

The issue B&N had both in their stores as well as their ebook store, is that they didn't play to what made them successful in the first place (i.e. customer experience) and didn't leverage the one advantage they had over Amazon, i.e. their stores. They really should have integrated the Nook into their stores. See a book in the store, scan the bar code and if it's available as an ebook, press a button and buy it. But, to make it work, they would have needed to match Amazon with regards at ebook availability and that still hasn't happened.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I'd agree that the first generation Nook was horrible in all those regards. However the NST, and NSTG saw notable improvements in UI, and the physical design. The Nook Glowlight was a backslide in a few features and the Nook Glowlight Plus is just bad.

The nook NST was no better. It was just as bad except without the LCD part.

[John F]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

...

The issue B&N had both in their stores as well as their ebook store, is that they didn't play to what made them successful in the first place (i.e. customer experience) and didn't leverage the one advantage they had over Amazon, i.e. their stores. They really should have integrated the Nook into their stores. See a book in the store, scan the bar code and if it's available as an ebook, press a button and buy it. But, to make it work, they would have needed to match Amazon with regards at ebook availability and that still hasn't happened.

That surprised me, a little. I would have guessed that pbooks available in the store, being current/ new releases, would have been available as ebooks.

[MGlitch]

Availability early on was an issue but it became much less of one. I think BN suffered more in their nonfiction selection for awhile.

But I can't think of a new release physical book which wasn't available from bn. There are certainly Amazon exclusive eBooks but those are generally published through Amazon or part of their KU library.

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I'd agree that the first generation Nook was horrible in all those regards. However the NST, and NSTG saw notable improvements in UI, and the physical design. The Nook Glowlight was a backslide in a few features and the Nook Glowlight Plus is just bad.

I know what the NST is. What is the NSTG?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

What is the NSTG?

Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight. My first e-reader!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I'd agree that the first generation Nook was horrible in all those regards. However the NST, and NSTG saw notable improvements in UI, and the physical design. The Nook Glowlight was a backslide in a few features

I agree. The Simple Touch with Glowlight was when Nook really had its mojo going. The Glowlight that both eliminated the SD card and severely limited the amount of space for sideloading was a one/two punch that hurt Nook as a brand.

...and the Nook Glowlight Plus is just bad.

I think the Glowlight Plus is very nice. Hardware wise, I think it's the best 6" e-reader currently available aside from the premium Voyage and Oasis.

After using a Kobo, I do wish the software were better. But if my Kobo were to start pushing up daisies, I'd buy a Glowlight Plus.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The Fire tablets can he rooted but don't really need it because sideloading is allowed. All you need is to enable running applications "from unkown sources" in the settings menu.

Unlike B&N, Amazon has better uses for their staff than fighting their customers over minor stuff.

I disagree here. Using both stores' fifty dollar cheapie tablets as a comparison, I can say that the Nook tablet is just an Android tablet with B&N's launcher installed. It comes with the Play Store installed and you can change the launcher if you like.

The Fire tablet runs Fire OS, a modified version of Android. You have to hack it to install the Play Store and you can't change the launcher.

Sideloading is allowed on both, as far as I know, though with the Play Store, sideloading doesn't matter much to me.