NOOK 3G WIRELESS & 3G SERVICE CONNECTIVITY ISSUES OVERWHELM BARNES & NOBLE SUPPORT

I have a handful of friends who got a Nook 3G for Christmas 2010, and all seem to be reporting the same handful of problems with their new device. Here are the issues that I have heard from several new Nook 3G owners:

• Device won’t connect to WiFi signals when available
• Device won’t connect to 3G Internet when service is available
• Cannot connect to Internet, but will connect to B&N Online Store just fine
• Swipe feature on bottom touch screen will not work properly

I called the Barnes & Noble Support toll-free number on behalf of 2 friends, and the system was overloaded. After being on hold for 5 minutes and being warned that the support staff was receiving an enormously high amount of calls, I got another recorded message apologizing for the delay and asking that I call back later, and the call disconnected automatically.

Not being able to get through the toll free support line, I called my local Barnes & Noble bookstore and asked a store clerk if there were some issues going on with the Nook 3G. The employee told me that they were getting swamped with people that were complaining of not being able to connect to the free 3G service, and that it was not an issue with the Nook device itself, but AT&T’s 3G service availability. She claimed that many people were even reporting that their cell phones were not able to obtain regular 3G data service that day, and that it had to be the carrier’s fault.

I didn’t completely buy the explanation that it was the fault of AT&T. The reason is, the people who had the connectivity problems with the Internet were able to immediately connect to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore online, peruse the selections, and even make a purchase. To ice the cake, the eBooks purchased downloaded with blazing fast speed. At the same time that the store claims that AT&T was having network problems across the board, I was able to access the Internet with my iPhone all day long. That had me scratching my head.

The only thing I can figure out from this is that there must be a distinction made between free 3G service accounts and paid cell phone data plan accounts on AT&T’s side. I wondered how it was possible that Barnes & Noble and even Amazon would be able to offer lifetime 3G for their devices at the exact same time that AT&T was ending the unlimited data accounts for new customers using smart phones. That just didn’t make sense. This is why I believe there must be some type of limit on the amount of bandwidth set aside for these free 3G accounts matched with the e-reader devices.

The only other problem I heard comments about was concerning the “feather swipe” page turn gesture not working. Apparently, you are able to turn a page using a Nook 3G or Wireless device by gently swiping across the bottom color touch screen portion after it has gone black from inactivity. Some owners are reporting that no matter how hard or soft they swipe, they are not able to get the page turn gesture to work correctly.

All of this brings me to a question that I posed at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore during the Thanksgiving weekend. My question was, “why are there so many refurbished Nook 3G units available at the discounted price? Are they overstocked units that the company is trying to reduce inventory on, or are they actual returns that had damage?” The clerk informed me that they were not overstocked units but that they were in fact actual returns that had been fixed for various reasons.

To have as many refurb units available as this store has, that tells me that there must be some serious and widespread functional issues with the Nook 3G and Wireless version of their eInk reader. I have not seen any news stories posted as of yet, but I fully expect to see something soon considering the tech support lines are getting pounded like they are.

Have you had any of these issues, or similar problems with your Nook Wfi or 3G reading device? Tell me about it and share that information with other Nook owners!

Carlton Flowers
The Gadget Man Supreme
www.carltonzone.com
www.microbusinessplans.com
www.twitter.com/carltonf

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Pandigital Ups The Ante With 2nd-Gen e-Reader

I’ve had my eyes on an e-reader for quite some time. But none of the popular models (such as the Nook or Kindle) have the basic features that I expect to have.The prices have come down quite a bit from their original retail offering, but the low price still doesn’t justify giving up what I really want in an e-reader.

I don’t like the lack of a full touch screen on these devices. The Nook and Kindle have a small touch area on the bottom portion of the device, but it does not work intuitively. I found that I could not figure out how to click on links and hot spots when surfing the web (which is laboriously slow). But it looks like Pandigital has broken new ground in offering the first eInk display e-reader that features a full touch screen.

I would consider paying the higher price to have the touch screen, and I would also possibly pull the trigger and not not wait around for color eInk to come out and settle for this version of Pandigital’s e-reader. What do you think? Is this a good buy at $200? See the details here —> http://bit.ly/9eqnmA

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PANDIGITAL CRANKS OUT A SUB-$200 MULTIMEDIA E-READER

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