Online retailer Amazon has partnered with Nokia to provide mapping services for its new Kindle Fire, representing a significant snub to Google.
Reuters reports that the new tablet device will have an integrated mapping feature and the partnership with Nokia help the company avoid using Google Maps.
Amazon revealed that the original Kindle Fire is now sold out and the Kindle Fire 2 is expected to be announced at an event on 6 September 2012.
The internet retailer will add location capabilities to the new Kindle Fire, which requires either a GPS chip or a process known as WiFi triangulation.
Kindle Fire provides customers access to more than 22 million movies, TV shows, apps, games, books and magazines.
Amazon had formed a partnership with Google in the past to use an improved version of its Android platform for the original Kindle Fire.
The new Kindle Fire will compete with Google’s Nexus 7, a software device which has GPS receiver chips to support location and mapping functions.
In July 2012, Amazon had acquired 3D mapping startup UpNext, making its foray into the mapping business.
Formed in 2007, UpNext provides mapping software for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire devices and covers 50 cities nationwide.
Digital mapping services market is becoming an area of intense competition between the major technology companies and the competition between Apple and Google is getting increasingly strong after they have announced plans for 3D-mapping services.
