Starbucks Card Mobile – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Starbucks Card Mobile
Version #: 1.0 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Date Released: 2009-09-16
Developer: Starbucks Coffee Company
Price: 0.00
User Rating:
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Admittedly, this is a first and kudos to Starbucks for having the intestinal fortitude to try out this particular experiment. Basically, we don’t even need to carry around little plastic cards anymore. We just need our iPhone or iPod Touch and the vendor needs some sort of scanner.
This entire venture poses some serious risks. By having a software-only method of providing gift cards, Starbucks opens itself up to some serious hacking. They could literally lose millions. Hopefully whatever steps they’ve taken to prevent this are adequate but there are some really good hackers out there, particularly in China where intellectual property laws are just sort of a good idea and not actually laws.
Currently this trial "virtual gift card" is only available in Seattle and San Francisco (specifically Silicon Valley). Unless it fails like the electric car, there will likely be expansion in the future.
The app itself works pretty simply. You log into a Starbucks account, where you can look at the balance on your "card". You tap a button that says "Touch to pay" and a weird geometric pattern (that is most definitely not a bar code) appears on your screen. That pattern is scanned and voila! You get your coffee.
The app has a settings section where you can fill in your billing information and the data for any Starbucks plastic gift cards you happen to have. This is a nice idea and a nice app and if they can somehow make it hack-proof I will enjoy myself some Starbucks Chai Tea Lattes in the future.
Pros: Convenient. Easy to use.
Cons: I’m not sure how secure it is. Starbucks probably isn’t 100% either.
You already know the Starbucks Card is the fastest most convenient way to pay at Starbucks. Our new Starbucks Card Mobile is the perfect companion to your Starbucks Card. With Starbucks Card Mobile, you can check your balance, reload your card, view transactions and in 16 select Starbucks stores in Silicon Valley and Seattle you can actually pay with your Starbucks Card using your iPhone or iPod Touch.
In select locations (currently Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA) we’re testing a mobile payment feature. In 16 stores you can pay with your Starbucks Card using only your iPhone / iPod Touch and this application. Your iPhone / iPod Touch will display a barcode that you use just like your Starbucks Card to make purchases. It’s fast. It’s easy. And it’s a revolution in mobile payment.
FEATURES
Check your Starbucks Card balanceReload your Starbucks Card with a major credit card
View your transaction historyPay with your iPhone or iPod Touch at 16 stores located in Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA. Participating stores are listed in the application.
O U R T A K E ...
