The whole Maps issue is the prime example right now about how Apple may be beginning to…

The whole Maps issue is the prime example right now about how Apple may be beginning to lose its way.  Between 1997 and about 2010, the key to Apple's success was to focus first on providing products that provide the best possible customer experience as defined by Steve Jobs, although he was mostly right on this stuff. 

Having determined what would serve customers, Tim Cook and his team did an impeccable job of executing to provide those products efficiently. By giving customers what they want in a cost-effective manner (from the company perspective) Apple generated huge profits.

On the other hand, the switch from +Google Maps to an in-house system was apparently driven by internal business decisions in the battle against Google and +Android. Rather than focusing on what was best for customers, Apple was looking at what was perceived to be best for Apple. At some point Apple Maps may be superior to the Google product but it's clearly not today.

When creating the iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air and other products, Apple waited until the product was ready for prime time to avoid alienating customers. This time they rushed and customers are paying the price. No company is perfect.  How Apple follows up this hiccup in the next year or two will tell us a lot about the post-Steve Jobs era.