Mapping has become one of the great battlegrounds of the mobile platforms. Apple has invested in its own system, to reduce reliance on Google, and Nokia has placed its Navteq unit at the heart of its turnaround plan. Now Amazon looks set to build its own maps system, allowing it to divorce its Android-based platform even further from Google’s services.
According to an exclusive report by GigaOm.com, Amazon has closed a deal to acquire 3D mapping start-up UpNext, taking a first step into the location sector. Currently, users of the Amazon Kindle Fire must download third party applications of access online mapping services, and there is no GPS included in the tablet. The UpNext deal may be one of several indications that the retailer is planning a more complex, highly specified Kindle model in future, and even an Amazon smartphone.
UpNext is the latest in a series of location focused start-ups which has benefited from the mobile giants’ mapping wars. Apple, for instance, has snapped up Placebase, Poly9 and C3 Technologies, all of whose features appeared in the maps platform unveiled with iOS 6 recently.
UpNext was founded in 2007 and raised its first venture capital – $500,000 ‘ in 2011. It has just four employees, including three founders, and specializes in interactive, detailed 3D maps of cities and venues. Neither company is commenting yet, but GigaOm’s sources indicate a price tag around $2.5m, and say the four-strong team will head up a new mapping unit for Amazon, based at its Seattle headquarters.
Also making maps-related moves is Nokia, which has formed a partnership with Ford to develop a more personalized driving experience. Ford’s research organization will use the Nokia Location Platform as the basis of its next generation connected vehicle platform, drawing on Navteq’s global location data, plus its evolving third party developer ecosystem, centered on cloud services and an expanding set of APIs.
The automotive giant is showing off its Nokia-based developments in its EVOS concept car, which is looking towards new uses of in-car connectivity, beyond simple web access or navigation. EVOS can ‘learn’ driver behavior to enhance and personalize vehicle performance, while the Nokia Location Platform can also be used to regulate a car’s powertrain for maximum efficiency, as a vehicle travels through a green zone, as defined by the driver or by authorities.
“We are committed to providing compelling customized services to the automotive sector and customers like Ford,” said Christof Hellmis, VP for map platforms at Nokia. “We have consistently focused on innovation around location and navigation in the car. It’s exciting to see the Nokia Location Platform as an integral part of Ford’s mission to revolutionize the connected car.”