Apple and Starbucks join up for iTunes WiFi purchases

Before you get too excited about this new "feature" Apple announced today in regards to its iTunes WiFi Music Store, you should be warned it's not half as neat as it sounds. Apple and Starbucks are partnering to bring you that lame sauce song playing way too loudly over your local Starbucks's soundsystem. When you're in a Starbucks T-Mobile hotspot, an icon will pop up on the iTunes WiFi Music Store that allows you to purchase that track from a playlist of recently played songs in that store. You also get free WiFi access to the iTunes Music Store -- not quite as great as full-on free WiFi, but we'll take what we can get.

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 5th 2007 2:13PM]

Apple and Starbucks now? If you walk in there watching a FOX tv show/film whilst wearing your Nike+ kit, you'd be part of the ultimate conglomaration of evil!

[Steven @ Sep 5th 2007 9:33PM]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Highest Ranked for a reason, you are.

[ET @ Sep 5th 2007 2:14PM]

FYI - it's not only a distribution point but its a clandestine methodology to build a secondary network under everyone's nose.

[Grammar freak @ Sep 5th 2007 2:33PM]

Starbucks' music has improved lately with the playing of The Police.

[Parker @ Sep 5th 2007 2:33PM]

Should provide some interesting hacking opportunities... surely the ability to send playlists wirelessly isn't a Starbucks exclusive?

[h0mi @ Sep 5th 2007 2:35PM]

It'd be awesome if you could retrieve podcasts via this method too.

[mikey @ Sep 5th 2007 2:43PM]

Arg. Might as well bring Walmart and McDonalds in on this too. I'm not sure what I'll do if/when the starbucks logo pops up on my $600 iPhone! Aye Yah!

Can I order my vente two pump soy chai iced latte with this bad boy too? w00t!! Booyah!

[CharlieX @ Sep 5th 2007 2:58PM]

Easy. Never go to starbucks.

[Nick @ Sep 5th 2007 3:37PM]

not so easy.. you have to never pass or be within the transmission range of the starbucks WiFi network..

[SKI @ Sep 5th 2007 3:44PM]

My McDonald's doesn't play music. Does your's?

[SKI @ Sep 5th 2007 3:44PM]

My McDonald's doesn't play music. Does your's?

[morder @ Sep 5th 2007 2:46PM]

I think I'll wait until the linux community adds the wifi support to their ipodos and then get one. Wifi would be great on the touch ipod...no need for the iphone

[Morder @ Sep 5th 2007 2:48PM]

unless it's only available on the iphone...in which case i think i'll pass

[Knight42 @ Sep 5th 2007 3:08PM]

Ugh, I can understand why Jobs wants to link up with Starbucks but egads, the coffee there is disgusting! Heck, I would rather go to 7-11 for a fresh cup o' joe than to Starbucks...I still have a gift card in my wallet from last Christmas I haven't used! Oh well, won't be using this function!

[Parker @ Sep 5th 2007 4:09PM]

Um... I can take that off your hands.

[Shahryar @ Sep 5th 2007 3:12PM]

If you feel like reading through the huge amount of comments on the main announcement page for today's Apple event, you'll come across all of our comments which think this is actually a pretty big deal. For me at least, I think this is the biggest announcement of the day.

It's not so much about Starbucks, but the technology itself.

I believe its from mainly page 11 of the comments onwards, but check out the comments from:
Wiseguy, netrokid, Truth, Chris, Boris, rawhead, Yin, and me.

[BrandonT @ Sep 5th 2007 3:27PM]

If the technology is in place for the phone to recognize the Starbucks' network. And also in place to be able to place you at a particular store (iTunes has to know which song is on at the store). Then why can't they provide an ordering page so you can order your drink while you're in line? Maybe even store your 5 favorite coffee orders for quick orders? Charge your credit card, go straight to the drink pickup and wait for your order...

So much more useful than buying the current song.

[Wilson @ Sep 5th 2007 4:36PM]

"it's not half as neat as it sounds" ... huh? You folks are really thinking small. This is a step. You bring your device into a place, it recognizes where it's at and delivers a menu/button relative to the location. You can then interact with the store by finding out what is currently playing and then - if you like - buy it. There's a pretty cool path forward, if you just think about it. But, boring? Don't think so.

[frankmu @ Sep 6th 2007 12:06AM]

i think you got it! one could walk into a store, like the Gap, look at your phone, and it will give you a list of sale items specifically tailored to you. sort of like the directed adds in "Minority Report", but not quite as creepy. google and apple will leverage this to the hilt.

[tom @ Sep 5th 2007 8:06PM]

I wish they applied the starbucks integration concept to internet radio.. Streaming from your favorite station (radioparadise), having the song title tag fed into a seach of itunes, and then a 1 click purchase (perhaps with a few pennies kicked back to the internet radio station as some kind of affiliate program)... now that would be cool, for all parties involved..

[randy @ Sep 6th 2007 2:18AM]

Oh, if you miss the song title on the radio, just wait a couple minutes. They'll play it again. And again. And again. And again. And aghh...

[Tokyo Dan @ Sep 5th 2007 8:14PM]

I wonder when this will come to Tokyo Japan.

http://www.whitokyo.info

[patdude @ Sep 5th 2007 9:08PM]

I guess I'd be pushing iTunes if I made coffee as badly as Starbucks does (that milky brown sugary shit just aint coffee)... Luckily Starbucks Wifi signal usually reaches way beyond their crapulent establishment so I can sit in a real coffee joint nursing an espresso and download off of itunes so there!

[Chris @ Sep 6th 2007 9:19AM]

What is odd is that Starbuck's uses T-Mo Hotspots for their in store wifi. Conflict of interest? Odd?

[Marius @ Sep 7th 2007 5:57AM]

From SBUX release: "The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at Starbucks will run on the robust T-Mobile HotSpot Wi-Fi network which is available at participating Starbucks locations across the US."

So, why is it going to take so long to roll this out?

[Coleman Foley @ Sep 7th 2007 7:28PM]

it'd be pretty cool to see what songs are playing and download it if you liked it.