Starbucks Coffee Co. and Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said they are teaming up to connect Starbucks' coffee shops around North America using MobileStar Network Corp.'s wireless network. Customers will be able to sit in a Starbucks and look up information about local arts and entertainment or shop online, the companies said.
Privately held MobileStar will provide the network infrastructure, with deployment scheduled to begin in late spring. Content and services will come from Microsoft's MSN network.
Starbucks also plans to launch a customer card that will let people preorder drinks over their mobile phones.
The companies did not release the terms of the agreement.
Starbucks shares closed off $2-3/16 at $42-1/16 in trading on the Nasdaq, while Microsoft shares finished unchanged at $43-3/8.
|