Amazon may have bought mapping startup UpNext earlier this month, but Barnes & Noble tablets are getting maps first. Rather than going with Google Maps on its Android-based devices, though, B&N is partnering with Berlin-based mobile company skobbler to add navigation services to its Nook Color and Nook Tablets.
Starting today, skobbler’s ForeverMap 2 app is available in the Nook app store. A basic version is free and a premium version, with downloadable maps for offline use, is $ 4.99. Barnes & Noble is also opening the Nook platform up to location-based app developers later this year.
Despite Amazon’s acquisition of UpNext, Kindle Fire users don’t have their own map app yet. They can download third-party Android apps or access services like Google Maps through the browser.
B&N’s partnership with skobbler “signals a brand new opportunity for Nook app developers to create location-aware apps, products and services that help our millions of Nook Tablet and Nook Color customers experience and navigate their physical surroundings in unique and innovative ways,” Claudia Romanini, B&N’s director of developer relations, said in a statement. “We’re excited about the potential here.”
