Smartphone makers are increasingly moving away from
using applications made by rival companies and are moving towards making their
own - or at least using that made by niche players in the segment.
Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) dumped Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG)
maps and its latest devices are running its own mapping services. Next in line
is Amazon, which may be close to ditching Google's mapping application and on
Monday unveiled its own Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) Maps API.
The mapping tool will run on its Kindle Fire mobile
devices. The announcement about its maps was put up on the Amazon mobile app
distribution blog.
"The Amazon Maps API makes it easy for you to
integrate mapping functionality into apps that run on the all-new Kindle Fire
and Kindle Fire HD. These new devices
will also support location-based services through the android.location
API," the blog post said.
The application is still available in beta and for the
developer community to tweak it and integrate it with the existing Google Maps
API.
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Of course, the blog does not say anywhere that it
would be replacing Google Maps with this app. What it does do is give
developers an alternative mapping service.
It does all the things which Google Maps does at the
moment - embeds interactive maps into an application, switch between standard
maps and satellite view, display location, and so on.
Meanwhile according to a report by Next Web, Finnish
handset maker Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK) has confirmed that its Location
Platform technology is being licensed to power Amazon Maps API.
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