Coffee junkies: ever forget your Starbucks card at home and kick yourself for missing out on the rewards? I won’t use the cliche — an app exists to solve your problem. Starbucks has just updated its stores to scan the Starbucks Card Mobile app in place of a physical card, using it to pay for your drinks and log your rewards. Read all about it and a few other items below.
Starbucks Card Mobile update (iPhone) Free
A while back it was going around that Starbucks was testing using this app as a replacement for a physical Starbucks card, and at the company’s shops in certain cities and in Target stores, you could actually pay for your order using your app. The testing is over, apparently, and now Starbucks has update its infrastructure to allow users to pay by scanning a code screen in the app in any Starbucks store across the country. You’ll need to buy a Starbucks card and put some money on it for the app to work, however.
In addition to just flashing your phone in order to pay for your coffee, Starbucks Card Mobile has a few other functions. It allows you to check your card’s balance and reward points, and you can use a credit card or PayPal to add more money to your card. And if you want to see the history of your Starbucks card transactions, the app will show you that, too.
MegaReader update (iPhone, iPad) $1.99
A fairly standard e-reader app, MegaReader stands out because it helps to get out-of-copyright or otherwise free books in front of iPhone readers. It boasts access to a catalogue of 1.8 million such free books, and you can download them over a Wi-Fi connection and read them anywhere through the app.
How can an app make reading free books better? Well, through the use of your iPhone’s camera, MegaReader enables you to walk while reading. It creates a heads-up display by laying text over the image captured by the camera as you walk, allowing you to continue reading while still seeing where you’re headed. You might look a little goofy in the process, but that’s the price paid for staying engrossed in a book while literally on the go.
ntask (iPad) $4.99
Graphically, ntask is supposed to mimic having a day planner spread out over your iPad’s screen. The app is one of those task managers that lets you input lots of information, so you can keep track of appointments and items on your to-do list without losing track of them. Ordering things by importance and due date is automatic, too, so you don’t have to worry about walking the dog overshadowing a work presentation accidentally.
Users of Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SharePoint will find ntask even more useful — the app is designed to sync with those services, gathering tasks saved in them and importing them into your current list and calendar.
