Amazon is reported to have acquired UpNext, a New York city startup that offers a mapping application for various devices and platforms including the Kindle Fire, Android and iOS.
UpNext has 4 co-founders and was created in 2007 to offer 3D maps on the PC, later on it moves to mobile platforms. The company raised half a million dollar from a small list of investors, most of them investing personally.
The mapping platform created by UpNext differentiates itself from Google, Bing and others with a lot of emphasis on game-like 3D visualization. Not surprisingly 2 of the co-founders were previously working in the gaming industry.
It will be interesting to see what Amazon will exactly do with this acquisition. While the Kindle Fire does not have GPS today, many of the LBS apps available for the platform rely on Wi-Fi triangulation from Skyhook Wireless. With no Google Maps on the platform, thus far users have mostly been using the MapQuest app.
More:
Watch an UpNext demonstration on iPhone:
UpNext has 4 co-founders and was created in 2007 to offer 3D maps on the PC, later on it moves to mobile platforms. The company raised half a million dollar from a small list of investors, most of them investing personally.
The mapping platform created by UpNext differentiates itself from Google, Bing and others with a lot of emphasis on game-like 3D visualization. Not surprisingly 2 of the co-founders were previously working in the gaming industry.
It will be interesting to see what Amazon will exactly do with this acquisition. While the Kindle Fire does not have GPS today, many of the LBS apps available for the platform rely on Wi-Fi triangulation from Skyhook Wireless. With no Google Maps on the platform, thus far users have mostly been using the MapQuest app.
More:
Watch an UpNext demonstration on iPhone:
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