bnvideoBarnes & Noble has started B&N Readouts to help Web surfers and users of B&N find the latest and greatest titles of interest to them (video link on Readouts page).

“’With B&N Readouts,” says Fred Argir, chief digital officer, “we’re bringing the excitement and serendipity of exploring our store shelves to the NOOK experience, where customers can scroll down our digital aisles and discover great new daily content anytime.

“B&N Readouts also offers customers sneak peeks of upcoming books and special bonus content from authors and publishers.”

According to B&N, “B&N Readouts is refreshed daily with book excerpts and magazine articles in popular genres and topics, including Fiction, Romance, Mysteries & Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult, Lifestyle, Books & Ideas, Science & Tech and Business & Innovation. B&N Readouts also offers customers sneak peeks of upcoming books and special bonus content from authors and publishers. My Picks allows users to customize selections to reflect their personal interests.

“Nook customers can get a flavor for new reads and authors before deciding whether to add selections to their wish list, easily purchase the full book or magazine, and share their favorite new discoveries with their friends via social media or email…”

Further details from the official announcement: B&N Readouts is part of a “new software release, which is now available at no cost through the Google Play store on all NOOK by Samsung devices, including the recently announced 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 NOOK, 9.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab E NOOK, as well as the 7- and 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 NOOK. The feature can be found by tapping on the NOOK Home icon on the device.

“Customers can also download or update their Free NOOK Reading Apps for Android and iOS devices through Google Play and the iTunes App Store, respectively. New features for the Android app include a new home screen and library with series stacking, the ability to share a quote to social networks and other upgrades in response to customer requests. The iOS app includes support for iOS 9 and the newest iPhones and the ability to share product details to social networks, email and other apps. Customers can also enjoy B&N Readouts free at BN.com/readouts.”

There is also a version of the B&N app for Windows, although I’m not sure if it’s been updated yet for Readouts. I did see Readouts when I tried out the iOS and Android versions.

Something else I’m uncertain about is whether you can customize your Readouts choices beyond general genres such as “romance” or “science fiction.” Maybe even by keyword? And how about e-mail notifications of new books by authors you like? Or a full-scale initiative like Amazon’s if-you-like-this-you-might-also-like-that approach, a useful Brand A e-mail wrinkle, not just a feature found on the Amazon site? Simply put, is B&N doing enough for those who don’t want to go out of their way to visit the company’s own site or fire up the app?

In the interest of consumer choice, I’d truly, truly like to see B&N giving Amazon more competition on all fronts.

(Via Gary Price.)

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