Starbucks Coffee, T-Mobile International, the wireless subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, and Hewlett-Packard have officially launched T-Mobile's HotSpot service in Starbucks coffeehouses.

According to the companies, Starbucks customers can check e-mail, surf the Web, watch streaming video or download multi-media presentations in Starbucks via a standards based wireless Internet connection for notebook computers and Pocket PCs. Starting today, Starbucks customers can trial T-Mobile HotSpot service for free at approximately 1,200 Starbucks stores in the United States.

An additional 800 Starbucks locations in the U.S. are scheduled to feature the service by the end of the year. With an eye toward global expansion, Starbucks and T-Mobile have also initiated a six-month pilot in select London and Berlin locations.

T-Mobile said its HotSpot service uses standards based "Wi-Fi" (802.11b) technology and is accessible for Starbucks customers with a wireless-ready notebook computer or Pocket PC. Backed by T-1 connections in popular venues in the U.S., the company claims the T-Mobile HotSpot service is reliable and fast enough to accommodate the full spectrum of applications from checking e-mail to multi-media video conferencing with a high-speed wireless connection as much as 40 - 50 times faster than standard dial-up Internet access.

HP has also introduced its new Wireless Connection Manager, free, downloadable software that the company claims makes it simple for mobile professionals to configure their wirelessly enabled notebook and Pocket PCs to automatically sense and connect to available wireless networks. The Wireless Connection Manager software is designed to assist Starbucks customers in moving between T-Mobile HotSpot and other wireless networks in which they may connect. Starbucks customers can visit the its website to download the free HP software.

With today's announcement, the service is now available at Starbucks stores in Atlanta; Austin, TX; Boston; Connecticut; Denver; Dallas-Ft-Worth; Houston; New York; New Jersey; Philadelphia; Portland, OR; the San Francisco Bay area; and the Seattle-Puget Sound region. Additionally, stores in southern California, including Los Angeles; Chicago; Maryland; Pittsburgh; Virginia; and Washington DC, are scheduled to be enabled before the end of the calendar year. The service is also available in select Starbucks stores in London and Berlin. Additional cities will be added to the European pilot over the next several months.