Online retailing giant
Amazon.com Inc.
(
AMZN
) has purchased a 3D mapping startup, UpNext for an undisclosed
sum, GigaOm reports.
The five-year old, New York-based UpNext offers interactive,
detailed, three-dimensional maps of cities and venues. UpNext has
launched apps for iPads, iPhones and Android devices. It covers 50
cities nationwide and offers complete details for 23 cities.
The acquisition will open up a new revenue stream for Amazon,
which does not have a mapping service of its own. The deal will
help Amazon to build its presence in the mapping business and
compete against major tech giants
Apple Inc.
(
AAPL
)
and Google Inc.
(
GOOG
).
Gradually, competition is building up in the mapping business.
Apple has been using Google Maps since the release of the first
iPhone in 2007, but recently announced that it will replace Google
Maps with its own in-house map service.
GigaOm reported that Amazon's tablet, Kindle Fire, does not have
a global positioning system receiver and so users have to download
third-party Android mapping apps or access online mapping services.
We believe the acquisition could bring in a more comprehensive
device which will include native mapping capabilities, thus making
the product more competitive.
In the first quarter, Amazon's revenue was $13.19 billion, which
was on the higher end of the guidance range for the quarter and
above the Consensus expectation by around 2.2%. Management
attributed the increase in revenue to the growing consumption of
digital content across different categories because of the
advantageous value proposition that Amazon was able to provide to
its customers.
Meanwhile, competition from
eBay Inc.
(
EBAY
), Applethrough its iBooks app,
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
(
BKS
) andGoogle remains strong.
Amazon shares currently carry a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates
to a Hold recommendation for the short term (1-3 months).
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