Amazon Kindle Fire 2 snubs Google Maps for Nokia maps

Retail giant snubs Android maker for next tablet

Amazon's next Kindle Fire will use Nokia's mapping services and not Google's Maps for its location features, according Reuters.

The reports claim that two people familiar with the situation had confirmed the new Kindle Fire will be released next Thursday using Nokia services for all its location based features.

The service is already used in the Nokia Maps and Drive services, currently found in its Windows Phone 7 Lumia series of smartphones.

The move be yet another snub for Google which has already seen Apple confirm it intends to drop native support for its Maps tool in favour of TomTom's services in the iOS 6 software update.

Furthermore, the news confirms analysts' claims that Amazon plans to unveil larger versions of the Fire in Los Angeles next week.

News of the 6 September media event broke on 23 August when numerous analysts and media outlets issued reports suggesting Amazon was on the verge of releasing a new high-end version of its popular US only Kindle Fire tablet.

At the time of publishing Amazon had not responded to V3's request for comment.

The original Kindle Fire was released in the US in 2011 costing just $199. The low cost led to a serious sales boom, with the Kindle Fire reportedly becoming the best-selling Android tablet in the region.

The Kindle Fire is yet to appear in the UK, where Google has released its own budget tablet the Nexus 7, which retails for a similar £160.

For more details on the original Kindle Fire check out V3's hands on.