Barnes & Noble Inc. has signed a deal with AT&T to provide free
Wi-Fi in all its bookstores nationwide.
Customers can also download and preview more than 700,000 eBook titles, with hundreds of thousands of public domain titles available from Google, according to Barnes & Noble. The company expects to have more than one million titles available soon.
"By providing no-fee Wi-Fi access, we are not only meeting our customers' needs, but extending the sense of community that has always been in our stores," said Steve Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, in a statement. "This is a natural progression of our digital strategy to provide customers with more choices in how, when and where they want to read."
Barnes & Noble has had Wi-Fi available with AT&T since 2005, but previously charged for its use. As part of the deal, customers will soon be able to opt-in to receive personalized messages from Barnes & Noble including coupons and notices on book signings.
"We are pleased to expand our relationship with Barnes & Noble as we work together to enhance and deepen customers' overall experience within the retail stores," said Ron Spears, CEO, AT&T Business Solutions. "We currently offer the majority of our AT&T customers Wi-Fi access throughout our more than 20,000 U.S. hotspot footprint, including Barnes & Noble, with their qualifying AT&T services. Now, we're excited to be able to offer every Barnes & Noble customer the same great Wi-Fi experience at no extra charge whenever they enter a retail store."
Customers can also download free Barnes & Noble Apps giving them access to the world's largest eBookstore with over 700,000 eBooks titles and exclusive content, customer reviews, information about in-store events, store locations, and more.
Barnes & Nobles also plans to offer free apps for Apple iPhone and iPod touch users that include browsing best sellers, watching video interviews with authors and using iPhone's camera to snap a photo of a front cover to receive book information, editorial reviews and customers reviews.
