In case you haven’t gone into a Starbucks [SBUX] store lately, there’s been a change to the look of the joint media offering card format.

First observed iOS app in the wild: Shazam Encore

Hi, intrepid Starbucks [SBUX] iTunes promotion fans:

It’s been a loooong time since we discussed the favorably fun Starbucks iTunes weekly offerings, that have morphed from a simple joint experimental item between Starbucks and Apple [AAPL] into a lucrative people-attracting feature in so many Starbucks outlets worldwide.

So, here’s a new, welcome twist on the campaign: offering iOS applications! So, it beefs up the possible weekly options, from single iTunes music tracks, to individual videos, to entire digital albums and compilations, to now… applications!

And it looks like, to kick it off, there’s the big brother to the popular free Shazam, known as Shazam Encore.

Once again, Starbucks [SBUX] is changing its famous logo for its cupware and branding.

The new Starbucks logo (Image courtesy of Starbucks, Inc.)

But you most likely are already quite familiar with its new mascot: the Mermaid. But now, she is going to be a bit more prominently displayed. In a nouveau simplification, perhaps even spartan, maneuver, the new logo boldly shows the Mermaid, but it excludes the usual Starbucks text slogan.

The new logo will be gradually filtering out to the various outlets, as the current inventory of supplies runs out.

You knew this was going to be profiled, sooner or later, especially as the winter holiday season gets revved up, and various coffee merchants are rolling out their seasonal beverages.

A few days ago, The Daily Beast has posted its list of what it considers the forty (40) unhealthiest coffee-based drinks. Now, this is not something considering every possible healthy or unhealthy factor associated with the drinks, just a quick check of the nutritional contents of the drinks by rummaging through the known or estimated nutritional contents (think, those FDA nutritional labels).

While this particular chain is not available everywhere, it seems that the It’s a Grind Coffee House chain (short link) has several of the top caloric counts, including the #1 spot with its Iced Blended Triple Chocolate Mocha beverage. Surprisingly, Starbucks [SBUX] has an entry a bit further down the list, at #8 with its Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha drink. However, keep in mind that the showcased drinks come in varying sizes, so scaling the drinks by volume would be necessary if you are seriously counting carbohydrates and calories… you may find yourself donating portions of your drink(s) to others to stick to your diet.

N.B.

Curious about the guidelines for the FDA’s food labeling guidelines? Read about them on their official site.

• Want the shortened URL? Here ’tis.

The answer to that question, “Will the Starbucks iTunes cards be discontinued?“:

No.

According to Starbucks [SBUX], the online Starbucks iTunes code redemption mechanism is in addition to the traditional physical card offering that has graced Starbucks outlets for the past few years.

However, for folks who have historically had difficulty getting the Starbucks iTunes cards in a timely fashion because of stocking problems at their Starbucks stores, this is an attractive alternative.

If you have been a frequent Wi-Fi user at Starbucks [SBUX] and also a fan of the Starbucks-iTunes free media (music and videos) card promotion, you may have noticed that some stores have had recent troubles in keeping the physical cards in stock or, even worse, up-to-date.

How are you going to keep abreast of the Starbucks-iTunes free music and videos?

Fortunately, Starbucks’ online operations may be able to help: if you check their Wi-Fi portal (which often comes up whenever you try to sign into a store’s Wi-Fi hotspot), you may notice the following:

Have you seen this featurebox on Starbucks' Wi-Fi portal?

But, of course, this also raises the question: what are the faithful card collectors going to do, once their outlet of these physical collectibles dry up?

The Setup

For a few years now, Starbucks [SBUX] has been offering free Wi-Fi access to two groups of people: qualified AT&T wireless customers, and Starbucks Card holders. While it has worked well for the “in” people, it has been a point of mild consternation for those who have not been inclined to get a Starbucks Card or become an AT&T customer. Over the course of the years since the free Wi-Fi service was unveiled (and the switch from T-Mobile [DT] to AT&T as the wireless provider), I’ve noticed people approaching the Starbucks staff asking how they can get access to the Wi-Fi router, to be told that they need to sign up for the Starbucks Card and register online to get it. Of course, for many of these otherwise-Starbucks customers, signing up for the Starbucks Card has– for a variety of unspecified options– just not been an option, and so they’ve left the premises after making their latte purchases.

The Premise

But as more retail chains offer free Wi-Fi, like Panera [PNRA] and McDonald’s [MCD] and Borders [BGP], and even AT&T stalwarts like Barnes & Noble [BN], it has become increasingly obvious that keeping a cohort of customers happy and connected on-premises translates to a variety of upsells and continued purchases, depending on the locale and customer demographics. And perhaps even more important, retaining the casual customers and converting them to regulars in the ever-tightening coffee wars is crucial to Starbucks’ continued success, so finally broadening their free Wi-Fi access to all customers is a necessity.

And it appears that Starbucks will execute on this requirement shortly.

The Action

So, when does the new Wi-Fi policy at Starbucks start?

July 1, 2010.

So, folks, get your Wi-Fi antennae revved up on your MacBooks, MBPs, netbooks, iPod touches, and iPads!

N.B.

Here are other Javamancy related posts, in reverse chronological order:

• Quest for Fire and Wi-Fi Access
• Overwhelming Response to Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Deal
• Starbucks Card

In an effort to better publicize their new frappucino mixing technique and product line, Starbucks [SBUX] is launching their Frappucino-oriented Happy Hour later today.

This two-hour period, lasting from 3:00 PM until 5:00 PM daily until May 16, 2010, will offer the new frappucinos at one-half of their listed/retail prices, as a way to encourage patrons to give the new beverages a try.

Like many of you, we’ve noticed the relative dearth of new cute, colorful, creative Starbucks [SBUX] Card designs, and with spring (and hopefully, an economic recovery) coming– and some people have definitely experienced spring at this point anyway– so it seems that Starbucks is long overdue to roll out some new cards.

Now, many people have traditionally used the Starbucks Cards as a personal debit card, of sorts, but other folks have been freely giving preloaded Starbucks Cards to others as gifts. So, you may have wondered, “Why aren’t there Starbucks Cards that present messages like ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Congratulations’, or even ‘Thank You’?“. Well, wonder no longer: Starbucks will be releasing three new designs that provide these messages to Starbucks outlets near you… if you haven’t already noticed the new card designs already.

Nice, right?

Starbucks [SBUX] is at it again: July 21, 2009 is their new Free Pastry Morning*.

Of course, given the lil’ asterisk you see, you’re probably wondering, “What’s the catch?”

And, yes, there is a catch(es):

• You should probably print out the invitation from the Web site;
• You will need to get to your local Starbucks between opening at 10:30 AM local time; the availability of the pastries will be on a first-come, first-served basis, or 10:30 AM, whichever comes first;
• You will need to purchase a hand-crafted beverage (brewed is a good choice);
• You have to choose from their acceptable range of “pastries”.

… and there are plenty of additional availability restrictions toward the bottom of the invitation. Definitely worth a read.

So, if you were destined to fetch some coffee tomorrow anyway, this is a nice extra perk to accompany your perk’ed drink.