Not long ago Apple has ditched Google Maps and went for an in-house application instead, powered by TomTom. And it seems like
Google doesn’t get lucky with Amazon either, as they chose to go for Nokia’s maps instead. Currently the Kindle Fire doesn’t use any maps application and you are only able to use the web version.
Google doesn’t get lucky with Amazon either, as they chose to go for Nokia’s maps instead. Currently the Kindle Fire doesn’t use any maps application and you are only able to use the web version.
--------------------------------------------------
In July, Amazon bought UpNext, a 3D mapping company, but it seems like they are not going to use their maps just yet, as Reuters reports. Amazon is expected to release the new Kindle Fire 2 by the beginning of September, considering that the original Kindle Fire is already sold out.
Amazon Kindle Fire 2
The Kindle Fire accounted for 22% of all tablets sold in the US, including bigger ones, though the company is rumored to release at least two versions of the Kindle Fire 2 – a 7-inch and a 10-inch one.
Amazon seems to pick Apple’s direction and build an in-house mapping application, by using Nokia’s content along with UpNext’s technology. So we should expect 3D maps, navigation, local search, along with other location-based services to come on Kindle Fire 2 out of the box.
Fortunately we will find out very soon what they are really planning to do, as most rumors talk about a September 6 Kindle Fire 2 release date. Currently the Kindle Fire is highly outclassed by Google’s Nexus 7, which comes with the same price tag of $199, but has much better internals. The Kindle Fire’s only advantage is the multitude of content available in the Amazon store, including books, movies and music, though Google is working on adding this kind of content in the Play Store too.
