| By Jim Bruene on September 24, 2009 4:39 PM | Comments (3) |
John Cook, a Seattle tech blogger at TechFlash, was apparently the first customer to use the new Starbucks Mobile Card iPhone app to purchase coffee at the Seattle Columbia Center Starbucks. The video was posted at 3 PM yesterday. For more info on the app, see yesterday's post.
He had a little trouble getting the point-of-sale scanner to read his iPhone-app-generated barcode, but after an extra few seconds (25 seconds actually) of wiggling the phone, the transaction worked (the transaction begins at about the 1:19 mark). Hopefully, with a little practice, users will know where to place their phones in front of the scanner for easy reading. He also demonstrates a card reload after the purchase (at 3:05 mark).
Notes:
1. The myStarbucks app has moved up to number 6 in the iTunes app store, while the mobile card is at number 29 (as of 4:30 PM Pacific).
2. The mobile payments capability is live at all 16 test locations as of yesterday.
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It's just really neat to think that this can now be done, but a key point is Cook's inability to answer his partner's very fundamental question: "Why don't you just use your card?" It was cool, but it was not (yet) better.
What if he had been able to input his drink order while waiting in line to pay? Maybe one day there will be a Starbucks in Seattle with lots of baristas but no cashiers...
Bryan Derman
Cool stuff. It'll be interesting to see how this works with large numbers of users. If any part of the process goes down and people don't have money with them there could be some long lines with irate customers. I can't wait to see this come out for my Palm.
It'll be interesting to see how this works with large numbers of users. If any part of the process goes down and people don't have money with them there could be some long lines with irate customers.