I had the same disapointing thing happen on SAN-EWR with a brand new 737-900. The GA announced it and recommended buying a book or magazine. After I got on the plane, I realized that the A/C power didn't work either which was a bigger issue for me as I had counted on having that.

I was also dismayed to see that the new overhead compartment spaces were smaller. If your bag doesn't fit in the bag sizer, it won't fit in the overhead. Perhaps they should start checking before letting people board. It's also angled upwards so for shorter people like me, it's hard to get anything in/out of it.