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Last updated: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Barnes & Noble has inked a strategic agreement with AT&T under which the wireless carrier will provide free in-store Wi-Fi access to customers visiting any of the book retailer’s outlets nationwide. Customers opting in to a new Barnes & Noble program will be able to receive discount coupons and personalized messages over Wi-Fi as they enter the retailer’s stores, the company said. However, the primary goal behind the offering of free Wi-Fi is to encourage customers to download and preview any of the 700,000 e-book titles that Barnes & Noble began offering online last week. “This is a natural progression of our digital strategy to provide customers with more choices in how, when and where they want to read,” said Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio. Wi-Fi Good, But 3G Is Key Customers visiting Barnes & Noble stores initially will be able to wirelessly access e-book content via free apps for the iPhone and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as smartphones, laptops and even the iPod touch. The book retailer’s big move into the e-book space won’t come until next year, when partner Plastic Logic releases a dedicated e-reader device. Like Amazon’s Kindle lineup, the Plastic Logic eReader will feature 3G wireless capabilities. Forrester Research Analyst Sarah Rotman Epps thinks that cellular connectivity — not just Wi-Fi, which isn’t available everywhere — is a key element for Plastic Logic and Barnes & Noble to have any hope of competing with Amazon. “Consumers value the seamless connectivity of the Kindle’s Whispernet service, which lets them download a book in 60 seconds using Sprint’s network,” Rotman Epps said. “Especially since Plastic Logic will be focused on newspapers — USA Today and the Financial Times are also partners — having the device be able to connect and refresh content anytime, anywhere, will be crucial for…

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Barnes & Noble Offers Free Wi-Fi To Sell E-Books

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