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.