Episode 1460: Mapocalypse?

So I've updated my iPhone 3GS to iOS 6, and yes, it is true. The new Maps app is awful. The Apple apologists are saying that it's just teething pains, and Apple itself has pretty much said that it's relying on user feedback and corrections to improve the app's accuracy. Trouble is, when you already have an app that works, replacing it with something substandard just so that you don't have to rely on a competitor's know-how makes for terrible PR. Much as I want Google to release their own standalone Maps app for the Apple ecosystem (much like they've done with YouTube, another app that's been sacrificed by Apple's latest update), I also want them to let Apple stew in the bad press for a while longer. I'm not going to go all this-would-never-have-happened-under-Steve-Jobs, but it's hard to see this as anything other than a massive gaffe, borne out of spiteful competition on Apple's part. By all means, make your own Maps app, but don't rush out something half-baked and expect people to love it just because, oh, it lets you render stuff in 3D. (Especially not when it generates an approximation of a Dalí painting! Melting bridges, anyone?) That said, I'm still updating my iPad to iOS 6, mostly because I want to see how hilarious Siri can be.