Starbucks

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Starbucks completes U.S. rollout of ‘order ahead’ feature, will hit Canada & UK next month

If you haven’t got time to stand around in a Starbucks queue to place your order, the good news is that the company has completed the U.S. rollout of its ‘order ahead’ service, which allows you to place and pay for your order on your iPhone before reaching the store.

The service started as a test in Portland before gradually expanding across the USA. It says that it is now available in all 7,400 wholly-owned stores. Note that it is not supported by franchised stores, which tend to be smaller.

Starbucks says that the service will be introduced in Canada and the UK next month. The app is a free download from iTunes.

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9to5Toys Last Call: 4-Port USB Desktop Charger $9, Free App of the Week, 5K iMac from $2,000, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

• Free shipping on Monoprice Lightning Cables w/ prices starting at $8 for 6-foot, more
• VPN Roundup: Lifetime access and other options starting from $39
• Parrot details new drones with upgraded specs for land, water and air
• Reebok extra 30% off sitewide w/ free shipping on $49 or more: Fleece, running shoes, more
• Home: Ronco Stainless Steel Rotisserie Oven $123 (Reg. $160), more
• Multi-year magazine subs from $3/yr: Wired, Maxim, GQ, ESPN, Dwell, more

Charge up to four USB devices at once w/ this RAVPower Desktop Charger for $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $16), more

App Store Free App of the Week: Slayin endless RPG goes free for the first time ($1 value)

Best Buy 2-Day Sale: 27″ 5K Retina iMac w/ 1TB Fusion Drive $2,000 w/ .edu or $2,100 w/o (Reg. $2,299), more

Get 50% off at Starbucks: $10 gift card for $5 w/ email delivery – Sold Out, sorry about the mix-up

Ondesoft Mac Bundle with X-Mirage, iTunes Converter, Audiobook Converter and more: free ($146 value)

$50 iTunes gift card for $40 shipped: save 20% on apps, music, movies and more

Restaurant and apparel gift cards 20% off: JCPenney, T.G.I. Friday’s, Legal Seafood, Steak n’ Shake, Jiffy Lube, more

Father’s Day: Tommy Hilfiger, Nordstrom, more up to 50% off, DEWALT tools & gift cards from 20% off, more

Giveaway: The DODOcase $80 Apple Watch and iPhone charging solution stands out

More new gear from today:

Daily Deals: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-inch SATA III Internal SSD $90, more

• New! Games/Apps: Steam Summer Sale up to 75% off, Xenoblade 3D $36
• New! IBSound IPX7 Waterproof Bluetooth Shower Speaker w/Mic: $18 Prime shipped
• New! LG Tone Pro Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Earphones: $44 shipped (Reg. $70)
• New! Brother HL-L2380DW Wireless 3-in-1 Laser Printer $75 picked up (Reg. $100)
• New! No Contract Androids: LG G2 5.2-inch 32GB $175, Moto E unlocked $50 shipped

More deals still alive:

New Games/Apps: popular puzzler Threes! goes free-to-play the right way & Drop the Chicken 2 releases at 50% off

Sony MDR-7506 Professional Folding Headphones $70 shipped (Reg. $100)

• All-in-one travel router, wireless card reader & power bank: $31 Prime shipped (Reg. $47)
• Acer 27-inch IPS Monitor w/ built-in speakers + HDMI $300 shipped (Reg. $350)
• Chromecast free movie rental offer includes American Sniper, Interstellar, and more hits
• Home: Kryptonite Bike U-Lock $29, Philips men’s grooming kit $45, more
• ‘Pay what you want’ Mobile-First Developer’s Bundle ($1,740 value, currently $6)
• LG G Pad 16GB Wi-Fi 7″ Android Tablet (refurb) $65 shipped (Orig. $150)
• Crucial M500 960GB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive: $290 + $4 shipping (Reg. $340+)
• Nikon COOLPIX P530 Digital Camera Shipped $260 shipped (Orig. $450, CA Tax Only)
• Apple begins selling iPad mini 3 on its refurbished online store
• Headphones: Harman SOHOi on-ears $150, Sennheiser HD439 over-ears $40, more
• MFi iPhone 6 2,500mAh Battery Case: $25 Prime shipped (Reg. $45)
• Canon refurbished cameras w/ 1-yr warranty: T5i DSLR w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $450, more
• Pencil by FiftyThree Stylus up to 20% off: Graphite $40, Gold/Walnut $50
• The ad-free version of Trivia Crack goes free (Reg. $3)
• Toms 35+% off: Men’s Leather Searcher Boots $75 (Reg. $149), styles from $27, more
• Fox Searchlight 20th Anniv. 21-disc Blu-ray Collection $100, Blu-rays under $5
• $100 off Apple’s new Macbooks (+Airs/Pros and iMacs) w/.edu email address at Best Buy
• Aukey gooseneck adjustable desk mount for iPad: $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $32)

New products & more:

Oculus finally unveils the retail version of its Rift VR headset

These Multisport Biometric Headphones are a fitness tracker and Bluetooth headset

• Get your first look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens Lego, Hasbro and Hot Wheels toys
• Sony’s new RX100 IV prosumer digital camera is loaded with features
• Holus uses 3D holograms to bring images from phones and tablets to life
• Ratchet & Clank is coming to PS4 with impressive next gen visuals and a brand new arsenal
• Apogee now offers free Waves plug-in bundles worth up to $600
• June Oven has better specs than MacBook & was designed by former Apple engineers
• Sonder keyboard’s E-ink display keys bring a fully customizable setup to your Mac
• Dyson’s in-house LED technology is the lifeblood of its gorgeous new desk lamp
• Gibson’s new Trainer Bluetooth headphones designed by Usain Bolt
• Microsoft announces new $349 Xbox One, 1TB model /updated controllers

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Starbucks offers one free month of Lumosity’s premium service as first in-app purchase Pick of the Week

Starbucks has been continuously updating how its customers can redeem its iconic Pick of the Week promotion. Last year, the chain started offering digital Pick of the Week through the Starbucks app. Starbucks then updated its app to support redeeming Pick of the Week cards with the device’s camera. Now for the first time, the Starbucks App is offering an in-app purchase as its Pick of the Week: a month of Lumosity‘s service.

The Lumosity app contains several different brain teasers that are based on neuropsychological and cognitive tasks designed to challenge users. The premium subscription is worth $15 and includes more than 40 games online, performance tracking, a personalized brain training experience with daily exercises, and comparison to others in the same age group.

This promotion will expire on November 18th and has to be activated on an iPhone or an iPod Touch via the Starbucks app. Once it is activated, the premium features will be available on all platforms.

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• Ireland
• Tax
• Starbucks

Apple responds to EU investigation into tax practices: “Apple pays every euro of every tax that we owe”

Following a report yesterday that the European Commission was about to launch a formal investigation into Apple’s tax practices in Ireland, the EU has now officially announced the investigation at a press conference. Bloomberg reports that the investigation will include not just Apple, but also Starbucks and Fiat Finance & Trade SA and will look at “whether the tax deals in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are illegal state aid.” 

“Special secret deals should be outlawed across the EU,” Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said in an e-mailed statement. “All tax breaks and reliefs should be openly available for qualifying businesses.”

“We need to fight against aggressive tax planning,” Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s competition commissioner, said at a press conference in Brussels. He said it’s “still too soon to anticipate” possible recovery if the EU finds the tax rulings to be illegal.

Apple responded with a statement to Bloomberg following the news claiming that it “pays every euro of every tax that we owe” and that it “received no selective treatment from Irish officials.” Apple’s full statement is below:

“Apple pays every euro of every tax that we owe,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “We have received no selective treatment from Irish officials. Apple is subject to the same tax laws as scores of other international companies doing business in Ireland.”

Apple last year faced a U.S. Senate hearing on its offshore tax practices in which it denied taking advantage of any tax loopholes in Ireland. The SEC also closed its own investigation without establishing any wrong-doing in October of last year.

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• Coldplay

Starbucks offering free iTunes download of Coldplay’s new song via iPhone app

Coldplay’s highly anticipated album Ghost Stories became available in its entirety on iTunes Radio First Play last week, and was finally released to the public yesterday. Now, Starbucks is partnering with the British band to offer a free track off of the album as its Pick of the Week. By downloading and opening the Starbucks app for iOS, the opening track off of the album, “Always in My Head,” can be downloaded for absolutely free. Simply launch the app and head to the “messages” interface, in which you should have a new message offering the song for free.

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• Apps
• iOS
• iPhone
• Mobile payment
• Starbucks

Starbucks app adds shake-to-pay and tipping that lets you change your mind

An updated version of the Starbucks app expected next week will add a shake-to-pay feature and let you add a tip of between 50 cents and $2, reports Engadget.

Shake-to-pay just means that if you’re on another screen of the app when you get to the front of the queue, you can simply shake your iPhone to bring up the barcode instantly.

The tipping function allows you to adjust the amount of your tip for up to two hours afterwards, presumably in case they manage to spill your second cup of Americano or the barista creates a particularly artistic piece of latte art for you.

The current free Starbucks app, incidentally, is Sleep Cycle alarm clock, normally $0.99.

• iOS
• Google
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• Canada
• wifi

Google testing app that lets you automatically join WiFi hotspots, plans to roll out hotspots in US/Canada

Engadget reports that Google has been testing a new iOS and Android app at its Mountain View campus recently that would allow users to automatically join public WiFi hotspots without going through the usual log-in process. Google is apparently considering using the app in connection with its recently announced deal to provide WiFi to 7000 Starbucks locations in the US:

According to our sources, the search giant has built Android and iOS versions of an app that automatically authenticate and connect to its free hotspots inside Starbucks stores or wherever they are available. Google is currently trialling the Android app at its Mountain View HQ and has plans to offer an iOS app too.

Perhaps more interesting is Engadget’s claim that Google has “specific plans” to roll out more Google WiFi hotspots in the US and Canada as part of the ongoing “Google WiFi” effort it first launched in Mountain View back in 2006.

The report adds that the app could link to a user’s Google account and “install a dedicated security certificate on their device to automatically authenticate devices when a connection is available.” Engadget says an expanded partnership with Boingo is also a possibility:

Google may also expand its partnership with Boingo, extending logins to locations where it’s footing the bill for free wireless.

Google plans to have its WiFi rolled out at all 7000 Starbucks locations by the end of the year.

(image via ABC)

• Apps
• iOS
• iPhone
• Security
• Mobile payment

Starbucks confirms that its iOS app stores passwords in plain text

Starbucks has confirmed a finding by security researcher Daniel Wood that both username and password in its iOS app are stored in plain text.

It’s not the big deal some are making it out to be – to make use of it, someone would need physical access to your unlocked iPhone, in which case you likely have bigger things to worry about than someone being able to order tall skinny lattes on your dime. Additionally, as Engadget observes, a far easier hack by someone with access to your phone would simply be to take a photo of the on-screen barcode used to authorise payments.

All the same, it is pretty poor design on the part of a payment app from a major company, and it’s surprising that Starbucks apparently has no plans to fix it with an updated app.