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Buying To-Go Items with Your iPhone?

headhighguy, see my step by step above as to how I think it would work.

This new way of ordering would not decrease the time spent drinking and browsing the itunes store from your iphone IMO.

genoco, you need to send this to apple now and tell them to hire you!!
 
Even more removed

Our society is getting ridiculously removed from personal interaction. Now you're telling me you can go to a public place and order a personalized beverage without having to speak to anyone... why does this scare me?
Maybe I'm showing my age a bit (30) but is it good to be so personally detached? I'm curious to see where this is heading as a society.

And yes, I do appreciate the irony of me typing this message as a mostly anonymous user in a message board.
 
Ok, it sounds neat, but I wonder what the security is like for this? I mean, if you lose/misplace the iphone, how easy is it for someone to make purchases on your behalf? ok, so it isnt like they can go buy a weeks worth of groceries or something.

But is the purchasing ability linked to the phone account, the sim?
 
I tend to avoid SBUX in the morning, but... if I could order my drink of choice while I was a few blocks away and have it paid for by my iTunes account and just grab it that would be interesting. Although, it seems like drinks would pile up in the bar that way.

Although, it seems to really make the whole package work Apple would be better served by jumping on the SBUX/T-Mobile bandwagon. Get your iPhone from T-Mo, pay a few bucks extra to use the hot-spot service, and then you can sit it the store all day surfing the web, buying music and ordering drinks all day. Isn't apple only tied to AT&T for the current model? Could iPhone 2.0 be available on multiple carriers?

My local coffee shop (free wi-fi limited to 1HR or not) will always win when I have time to sit and read the paper, but for the above I would gladly trade in my T-Mo powered BB 8800 for a T-mo powered iPhone to use on travel and durring the week....
 
Popeye206 said:
On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how criminals try to exploit it.
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing.

why didn't I buy Apple stock 10 years ago when it was under $5 a share???? UGH!
Click to expand...

I was trying to think of a pithy way to say "same thing as my comment above" but I couldn't come up with anything. Drat.
 
delicious

I think we are just starting to see the possibilities of the iPhone. Along the the lines mentioned in the article, I would love to see Delicious integrated into the iPhone (maybe once the SDK comes out). Use the iPhone's camera to take a picture of a product's barcode, and then iPhone contacts a database and pulls up lots of details on the product (e.g., reviews, video previews, etc.).

Apple is getting pretty good at making it easy to separate me from my money.
 
Poncho said:
Here's a photo of a Starbucks in Scotland by Jim Jenista. Is it the same as in America? I guess the foam's optional...
Click to expand...

Yep, looks identical. And the foam looks like our fire extinguishers but yea, looks identical. Its like fake culture, really annoying at least to me anyways...
 
Random Ping said:
I think we are just starting to see the possibilities of the iPhone. Along the the lines mentioned in the article, I would love to see Delicious integrated into the iPhone (maybe once the SDK comes out). Use the iPhone's camera to take a picture of a product's barcode, and then iPhone contacts a database and pulls up lots of details on the product (e.g., reviews, video previews, etc.).

Apple is getting pretty good at making it easy to separate me from my money.
Click to expand...

Your idea's better than the one from the main story.

I'm pretty doubtful Apple's idea will get much traction in real life. If people were very interested in this sort of thing we'd see a lot more signs. This is just a logical extension of kiosk ordering, after all, and there isn't a lot of that around.
 
This is pretty cool, but not cool enough to make Fourbucks coffee any less over-roasted, over-priced, and over-rated.

I'd probably use it at GOOD coffee shops though, if I had the option. And if I could even buy an iPhone in this country. Be nice for Sushi too, and other meals I don't want to wait for. If I could order dinner mid-afternoon to have it ready at 5:30, that would be awesome.

If only there was a way to do that with the technology available on my desk right now.... :D
 
mowenbrown said:
Although, it seems to really make the whole package work Apple would be better served by jumping on the SBUX/T-Mobile bandwagon. Get your iPhone from T-Mo, pay a few bucks extra to use the hot-spot service, and then you can sit it the store all day surfing the web, buying music and ordering drinks all day. Isn't apple only tied to AT&T for the current model? Could iPhone 2.0 be available on multiple carriers?
Click to expand...

No, the contract is supposedly for any iPhones for 5 years. There's no way AT&T signed a 5 year contract on one version of a cell phone. Cells get updated at least once a year, and you'd have a hard time finding a phone that came out 5 months ago, let alone 5 years ago. They've got the exclusive on all iterations in the USA for 5 years.

And let's not forget that AT&T owns wifi hotspots too. And that T-Mobile needs revenue where they can get it. So between those two, plus Starbucks desire to gain more incremental revenue from people hanging around all day, someone's coming up with a way to lure iPhone owners into paying.
 
Stella said:
Parts of Asia have had this ability - buying for items via cell phone - for quite a while.

Hopefully this sort of thing will appear more throughout north America soon.
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The Following URL shows a series of Flash videos that demonstrate how this could work (plus a lot more).

http://www.kddi.com/english/corporate/kddi/ubiquitous/en_b_select.html

The site is several years old, and you may have some difficulty loading the Flash movies,

Stick with it, tho, as it is worth the effort.

This is all possible, Today!
 
Popeye206 said:
Ahhhh... the fiendish plan is coming together! :D

P.S. why didn't I buy Apple stock 10 years ago when it was under $5 a share???? UGH!
Click to expand...

The real question is why didn't you buy it when it was at $40 a few years ago or at $100 six months ago? And at $200 today?
 
God, this is the future I've been waiting for. No more checking to see if I remembered my phone, ipod and wallet before leaving the house. Oh, man, forgot the keys.

If I can do everything from once device, I'd be happy. Grab the iphone, leave the house. :)
 
FCPnewbie said:
Our society is getting ridiculously removed from personal interaction. Now you're telling me you can go to a public place and order a personalized beverage without having to speak to anyone... why does this scare me?
Click to expand...

You definitely have a point... I'm in my mid 40's - love technology, but already see with the younger generation how computers have helped our children become more removed from personal interaction with others. Heck, my step son who is 22, would rather chat on his Macbook until 3am with his buddies (which none of them he has ever met) than go out and have a real life. He has no friends locally. He can't stay away from it and I'd say he's addicted to it. Whats worse... he is not good with people in person. I see this out of so many in his age group and younger.... typing their lives away (as I am now! LOL!). Oh wait... I have a life away from this thing! Thank goodness! But it is sad too.

This is like the theory Faith Popcorn put out in her book about how technology will cause people to cocoon away from others. Is this what we're coming too? A virtual life where we talk to everyone and know no one?

With that said... I do love the idea of what this will bring... but you can't help but pause and think about what it means in the long run.
 
tkidBOSTON said:
God, this is the future I've been waiting for. No more checking to see if I remembered my phone, ipod and wallet before leaving the house. Oh, man, forgot the keys.

If I can do everything from once device, I'd be happy. Grab the iphone, leave the house. :)
Click to expand...

Don't forget your wallet and keys yet-- you're getting ahead of yourself... but the keyless car iPhone iCarKey deal with BMW and the Driver's iLicense with California is right around the corner I'm sure.
 
Apple/Starbucks really need to address the T-Mobile/Non-free wi-fi access that is currently in place before they get carried away with any new crazy ideas. Its a disgrace that T-Mobile hotspots are still in place, they need to kick out T-Mobile and/or pay them enough to provide free wi-fi access.

For the iPhone user who wants access at the local Starbucks they must not only pay at&t but also sign up a revolving monthly account with T-Mobile and/or pay the one-time usage fee.

My thoughts are that Starbucks is currently locked in some kind of contract with T-Mobile hence the lack of traction on this as Apple must be aware that its iPhone customers are currently frustrated with this. It benefits all parties to offer free wi-fi.

... Ironically Seattle's Best, also owned and operated by Starbucks offers free wi-fi! ... weird.
 
iSee said:
This is just a logical extension of kiosk ordering, after all, and there isn't a lot of that around.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the idea of not having to get off your butt and interrupt your conversation with someone or leave your laptop will make it more likely to people to place an order?

Imagine having finished your first cup of coffee 10 minutes ago but you are still sitting there enjoying a conversation with a pretty girl (or guy). To get another shot, just whip out your iPhone, order your second Mocha, ask the pretty friend if they want one, submit your order. When the coffees are placed on the pick up counter, you get up for 5 seconds, grab the order, sit back down, and carry on the conversation with minimal interruption.

Or maybe you are writing a paper for your class, and you have run out of caffeine. You can either leave your laptop unattended for 15 minutes while you wait in line, place your order and pay, and then wait for them to make it, or you can pack up your laptop to go wait in line (at which point someone takes your spot), or you can order it on your iPhone and then wait until the order is up. That only takes 5 seconds to pick it up, so you don't worry about your laptop.

I am not a Starbucks fanboy, so I don't know if this would be of value or not. It is just a thought.
 
Popeye206 said:
You definitely have a point... I'm in my mid 40's - love technology, but already see with the younger generation how computers have helped our children become more removed from personal interaction with others. Heck, my step son who is 22, would rather chat on his Macbook until 3am with his buddies (which none of them he has ever met) than go out and have a real life. He has no friends locally. He can't stay away from it and I'd say he's addicted to it. Whats worse... he is not good with people in person. I see this out of so many in his age group and younger.... typing their lives away
Click to expand...

Wow. That's me but I'm 15 :O

I don't go out and socialize with friends - mainly because most of them don't live locally (despite being able to meet them a bus journey away) and because I really dislike just hanging around on street corners, intimidating the general public with my presence.
Then again, most of the stuff I do as a hobby (Stop Motion animation, Music Making) revolves around computers so I kinda have an excuse :p
But I have realised that I spend way too much time on my iMac (Yeah, I spent £1009 out of my own pocket after 9 months of saving on this thing but that's no excuse to spend every awake moment on it)... mainly because my eyes are really starting to suffer due to it (I wake up each morning and have to spend a few minutes to see whether or not they've gotten any worse).

I'm bad, but I know I'm not as bad as some people who only use their computer for non-productive things like playing computer games and just talking to people (At least most of the people I talk to have some benefit to my career - like I talk to other animators and we share tips and stuff)... But I do agree that it's very saddening and in the next ten or twenty years, we'll see a world full of people too socially retarded to actually make contact with each other that isn't awkward in some way.
 
FCPnewbie said:
Our society is getting ridiculously removed from personal interaction. Now you're telling me you can go to a public place and order a personalized beverage without having to speak to anyone... why does this scare me?
Maybe I'm showing my age a bit (30) but is it good to be so personally detached? I'm curious to see where this is heading as a society.

And yes, I do appreciate the irony of me typing this message as a mostly anonymous user in a message board.
Click to expand...

Waiting in line to get a much needed caffeine fix is not my best time for human interaction, to say the least. Unless strangulation of the bee-yatch in front of me ordering a 1/2 caff soy latte extra hot no foam with 2 shots of sugar free vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon is considered personal interaction.

Once I have my coffee in hand I will be a much happier soul and glad to sit down and have a conversation. Just get off your damn cellphone!
 
BlakTornado said:
I do agree that it's very saddening and in the next ten or twenty years, we'll see a world full of people too socially retarded to actually make contact with each other that isn't awkward in some way.
Click to expand...

I had a "Richie Rich and Casper" comic back in the 70s (?) where this was the plot line. However, I don't think that this is necessarily a bad thing, people will just interact differently.

I have greater concerns that the chatterbots will get so good that many people will have online friendships without every knowing that their friend is only a piece of software on a machine.
 
plumbingandtech said:
headhighguy, see my step by step above as to how I think it would work.

This new way of ordering would not decrease the time spent drinking and browsing the itunes store from your iphone IMO.

genoco, you need to send this to apple now and tell them to hire you!!
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you, That is amazing for someone that does not work for Apple and is not being paid to do that. You should really send that to Apple and get then to hire you like plumbingandtech said.
 
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