In a move that assuredly brings joy to coffee drinkers and work-on-the-go types, Starbucks has just announced that they will be offering free WiFi at all their US stores starting July 1st. Not only that, but Starbucks is also offering the free "Starbucks Digital Network," with access to exclusive content, to make their WiFi offerings even more attractive.
One of the benefits of being a blogger that I have always enjoyed is the ability to work from anywhere. Or, rather, anywhere with internet. While Starbucks had formerly offered internet in their stores, the sign-up process was complex and it wasn't free - at $3.99 for two hours, the expense seemed unjustifiable to me when I wanted to spend 2+ or even 4+ hours in one sitting, as I often do (I do make sure to buy coffee and food when I do that, but paying an average of $10 or more a day for internet would have tempted me to go hungry). Although I do still go to Starbucks every so often, I can personally say that I have literally avoided Starbucks for no reason other than this. All this is to say, their lack of free WiFi clearly affected their business, even if I'm the only one on the planet who felt this way (I imagine I'm not).
So it comes as great news to me, as well as to anyone who ever has or has wanted to use WiFi at a Starbucks, that Starbucks WiFi is going 100% free starting on July 1st. I never really understood why they didn't have it before, but I am happy they've caught up with the times. In fact, they've done more than that, simplifying the sign-in process down to a single click and creating the Starbucks Digital Network in an attempt to differentiate them from all the other free WiFi hotspots out there.
The Starbucks Digital Network is, essentially, a partnership struck with a growing number of companies to provide some exclusive content for Starbucks users. The list of companies currently includes Yahoo!, WSJ, Apple and Zagat. Depending on how the user interface is, I could see this having some appeal for casual surfers, especially those with smartphones.
Starbucks may be a little late in the game - a little digging has discovered that we first called out Starbucks for failing to provide free WiFi over 5 years ago - but it's certainly better late than never. This is good news for laptops and WiFi capable smartphones everywhere.
Did you ever eschew a Starbucks coffee for another shop because of WiFi? Does this announcement make you any more likely to hit one up now? Let us hear about it in the comments.
One of the benefits of being a blogger that I have always enjoyed is the ability to work from anywhere. Or, rather, anywhere with internet. While Starbucks had formerly offered internet in their stores, the sign-up process was complex and it wasn't free - at $3.99 for two hours, the expense seemed unjustifiable to me when I wanted to spend 2+ or even 4+ hours in one sitting, as I often do (I do make sure to buy coffee and food when I do that, but paying an average of $10 or more a day for internet would have tempted me to go hungry). Although I do still go to Starbucks every so often, I can personally say that I have literally avoided Starbucks for no reason other than this. All this is to say, their lack of free WiFi clearly affected their business, even if I'm the only one on the planet who felt this way (I imagine I'm not).
So it comes as great news to me, as well as to anyone who ever has or has wanted to use WiFi at a Starbucks, that Starbucks WiFi is going 100% free starting on July 1st. I never really understood why they didn't have it before, but I am happy they've caught up with the times. In fact, they've done more than that, simplifying the sign-in process down to a single click and creating the Starbucks Digital Network in an attempt to differentiate them from all the other free WiFi hotspots out there.
The Starbucks Digital Network is, essentially, a partnership struck with a growing number of companies to provide some exclusive content for Starbucks users. The list of companies currently includes Yahoo!, WSJ, Apple and Zagat. Depending on how the user interface is, I could see this having some appeal for casual surfers, especially those with smartphones.
Starbucks may be a little late in the game - a little digging has discovered that we first called out Starbucks for failing to provide free WiFi over 5 years ago - but it's certainly better late than never. This is good news for laptops and WiFi capable smartphones everywhere.
Did you ever eschew a Starbucks coffee for another shop because of WiFi? Does this announcement make you any more likely to hit one up now? Let us hear about it in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment