If you recently purchased a Barnes & Noble Nook e-book reader, you'll be delighted to know that a new firmware update has been released. Nook v1.1 allows customers to connect to Barnes & Noble's free in-store wireless Internet, providing access to "exclusive content and promotions." The latest firmware version also brings several other changes:

• Improved page turn and formatting of downloaded eBooks.
• Improved startup time for My Library, The Daily, and Settings.
• Immediate launch of the reader upon choosing Select from The Daily and My Library, for books and subscription issues that have already been downloaded; otherwise the book detail page is displayed, with Download as the first option.
• Elimination of the page skipping that has occurred in certain PDB eBooks.
• Status bar (battery indicator, signal indicator, and clock) is displayed in reader.
• Overall system improvements.

Customers can apply Nook v1.1 via an "Over the Air" (OTA) update, or by manually downloading the software here. Barnes & Noble reportedly plans to conduct a larger Nook software update early next year, so keep an eye out for upcoming changes.