It’s a bit of a cliché to insult the quality of Starbucks coffee since most people don’t actually know what coffee really is. Starbucks profits on selling a perverted version of a beverage enjoyed by millions around the world, offering to load it up with a wide variety of artificially flavored syrups that have enough sugar to put a 260 pound football player into a diabetic coma. Anyway, we’re not here to judge your taste, or lack there of, so let’s dive right in to what’s actually important here: Starbucks has released an Android version of their mobile application. Similar to the application that came out in January of this year for Apple’s iOS and RIM’s BlackBerry operating system, you’ll be able to locate your nearest Starbucks, manage your Starbucks account, keep track of your rewards, and finally, the best feature, you’ll be able to pay for your drinks by simply holding your device up to a barcode scanner. You can grab this application right from from the Android Market, and you’ll need an Android 2.1 or higher to actually run it.
Now should you be the more adventurous type of individual, if you’re in the mood for coffee then why not load up an application like Google Maps, Bing Maps, or Yelp to search for a cafe nearest to your current location that’s something other than a Starbucks? Not only will you be breaking your routine, but you might actually find a little hole in the wall place that no one knows about and makes an absolutely ridiculous cup of coffee. It’ll keep your mind fresh, spare your intestines the difficulty of digesting that mass produced microwaved muffin you scarf down while drinking your iced coffee every morning, and best of all you’ll support local small businesses.
Just a thought.