[alttag]

  > ... I don't really see how it can play out well for them.
  > Can the expense of running brick and mortar stores for 
  > customer service possibly be worth the added cost to 
  > the customer? Seems doubtful.

Certainly hasn't worked out well for Apple. ... Oh, wait ...

Combined with free wifi, books that can be browsed, in store returns, they've possibly got a chance.

Will it convert me? No, I'm a Prime user with some positive AMZN customer service experiences under my belt. So, maybe B &N needs to do more courting of the tech crowd.