Earlier this year, Apple announced that it will replace Google Maps on its iOS mobile operating system with a mapping service of its own. And now, Amazon may be moving in the same direction.
On Monday, with a post to its mobile app distribution blog, the company unveiled the Amazon Maps API, a means of building mapping tools into applications that runs on its Kindle Fire-branded Android tablets. Although the announcement doesn't say that Amazon Maps will replace Google Maps (or even whether there will be a standalone Amazon Maps app), the API does give developers an alternative for building mapping and location-based applications.
The company claims its API provides a "simple migration path" from Google Maps. According to the Amazon Maps API page, it can be used to embed interactive maps into an application, switch between "standard maps" and a satellite view, display a user's current location, and create custom overlays, such as the location of businesses or other points of interest. According to Kindle Fire Device and Feature Specifications page, the first-generation Kindle Fire "does not support the use of the Maps API." That at least implies that apps that use the Amazon Maps API won't work on other Android devices. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. Developers can request access to the Amazon Maps API here.
The Next Web reports that Nokia has confirmed that its Location Platform technology is being licensed to power the Amazon Maps API. Location Platform is also used by Microsoft's Bing Maps and Yahoo Maps.
The news follows something of a debacle over Google Maps API pricing. Google announced a price hike for the API last year, but after popular outcry, it lowered pricing in June. Apparently, Apple had other reasons for parting ways with Google Maps — Google is its arch-rival in the phone game — but many companies are now moving away from Google technology in favor of their own technology and/or the open source maps offered by the Open Street Map project.
Geeta Dayal 18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/mnVMkZBMDtE/
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