http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/

I've been making use of the iOS 6 maps as part of the trip. Overall, they work well for turn by turn where I've been. Mostly due to the integration with Siri and the lock screen. If I need to conserve power a bit, I can turn off the screen, and the phone will turn it back on only when it has new instructions.

It has led me off route a bit for some destinations though. 2 destinations have been off by a few blocks, from a bad pin placement from Yelp. One situation it simply didn't handle was a business on State Line Rd where the address numbers don't line up to what they are across the border running down the middle of the road. And the more common and easier to fix one is the address on file has the right street address, but potentially incorrect state or zip code info. The pin will be in the right spot, but the driving directions engine keys off the incorrect info. This one lead maps to tell me to drive all the way from South Dakota to California for gas.

I do have other maps programs, including one with local maps if I wander out of cell coverage. So far, I've only needed to switch once. Once the data improves, it will be a good addition to the iOS side.

It is a shame the painful transition was necessary, but Apple had little choice in the matter. The old maps were very dated feature wise, and it was becoming a big negative when compared against other phones. Google and Apple couldn't work out an agreement that both sides were happy with regarding the built in maps, even after Google promised back in 2009 to bring navigation to the iPhone. Google could have submitted a 3rd party app via the app store as early as 2008, though it appears this has yet to happen.