Starbucks to offer free Wi-Fi at all its locations.

Starting July 1, Starbucks will offer free Wi-Fi internet access to all its customers at all its locations in the U.S. The move is in response to a similar one by McDonald who earlier this year offered free wireless Internet service to its customers in its effort to still business from the coffee chain. The Starbucks new free Wi-Fi offer will take over from a patchwork of confusing plans.
On top of the general Internet acces which will be be offered trough the same provider, AT&T, Starbucks will offer free access to some otherwise paid content like the paid portion of the Wall Street Journal or Zagat, the restaurant review site. Starbucks also plans to use the service as a virtual network where content from select business based on their proximity to the Starbucks locations, will be available.

For more, see WSJ.com

Starbucks coffee launches my Starbucks App for more convenience.

As if its stores were not ubiquitos enough, Starbucks wants to put a store right in the palms of your hands, for iPhone phones owners at least, in the form of an app. That was made possible with the introduction last month of two Starbucks apps respectively called myStarbucks App and TheStarbucks Card, available at Apple's store. While the myStarbucks App has been released to the general public already, The Starbucks Card is still in the testing phase, mainly in the West coast with yet no release date to the general public. In the other hand, myStarbucks app is available for download free from the iTunes store.
According to the NYTimes," the myStarbucks App, which is usable anywhere, lets you store the recipe for your favorite coffee concoction and to share it with other people." If you need some help with your selection, the myStarbucks App has a flavor selector that will let choose a coffee made with your favorite flavors like earthy or nutty. It also gives you a peak onto the nutritional information relevant to your selection.
And as you would have suspected, the myStarbucks App has a store locator built into it with multiple possibilities like search for the closest store or by the kind of amenities offered ( diapers changing station anyone?)
The Sarbucks card being tested in selected cities in the West Coast, is more intriguing in the sense that it will let people pay for their coffee via a bar code embedded on the phone's screen.Quoting the New York Times, TheStarbucks Card "works just like a regular Starbucks card, in that you buy credit then use it against your orders. When you want to buy a drink, turn on the app, and your screen will show a barcode. The store will scan the barcode and the dollar value of the drink will be subtracted from your purchased credit."


For more, see NYTimes.com