In one sense, it's actually the opposite. In iOS 5 and earlier, they were at the mercy of their arch-rival. Now, by doing their own map, "crippled" or not, the

In one sense, it's actually the opposite. In iOS 5 and earlier, they were at the mercy of their arch-rival. Now, by doing their own map, "crippled" or not, they're independent. They're less at Google's mercy than they were before. If the Apple Maps app someday becomes as good as (or better) than Google Maps, this move will be seen as genius.