Everyone seems to be flogging the already-dead Apple Maps issue to death. But they're having a lot of fun doing it, so we thought we should do it too.

CEO Tim Cook semi-apologised for the fiasco on Friday, in a statement that was first reported by TechCrunch.com. Key sentences include "we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up", "sorry for the frustration", and "you can try alternatives ... like Bing, MapQuest...": all of which is, basically, eyewash. Cook notes heavily that the app can't be perfect because it was built from scratch. But that isn't the point at all: People who upgraded their iPhones didn't expect the maps "frustration", while Apple had to have known what they were in for.

The statement — more corporate spiel than apology — throws in some late advertising as well: "There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps".

More interesting is Apple.com's reworded description of Maps. You can see the original text at this screenshot at CNET.com: "most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever". At Apple's iOS page about Maps, the replacement goes "beautiful vector-based interface that scales and zooms with ease".

The "Maps takes a whole new turn" part remains unchanged, of course.

Tags : TechTree Blog, Apps, Sat Nav, iOS, Apple, RMR