It should be given the same level of expectation as the thing it replaced. If Apple had run this maps app as an optional beta program, and not replaced the google maps app, things would have been a whole lot better. Then they could've waited for iOS 7 to make it default, just like they did with the messages beta for OS X.

This makes very good sense. A gradual migration rather than a shock transition would not only have saved Apple's arse but also the consumers & the overall user experience.

The only problem with any maps app written by Google is it cannot be the default. Friend texts you an address? It will always open in Apple Maps.

Also every 3rd party app using MapKit is stuck with Apple's maps. Google would need to release a GoogleMapKit iOS-Library for 3rd Party apps. iOS limitations are really showing now, it 's so disappointing to see Apple making things worse (new Maps, new AppStore), without providing proper 3rd party access to core functions and better cross-app communication. Instead of getting baked-in Facebook-Sharing with iOS 6, they should've made that an API, something every service can plug into, like Android's Sharing System. It's a shame, the hardware is so awesome, but the software is going down the drain, it desperately needs to be opened up more. For the record, the iPhone is now the only modern device I know of, that you can't access Google StreetView. No app, not through Safari, you just can't. I think it should be clear that something is wrong, when such an advanced device, can't do something as simple as that.

> proper 3rd party access to core functions and better cross-app communication

That right there is, to me, the biggest miss in iOS and why I am quite ready to move to Android entirely: it is very convenient to be able to share data between apps. Take a picture with the camera, share it out of the gallery into an editor, then just the same share it out of the editor into an SMS, Twitter status, an Evernote, or anything else that registered itself for that filetype. I love it so much I actually miss the functionality on all the desktop operating systems. iOS, by comparison, forces one to use either the predefined list of sharing services, or to keep saving things and opening them in each app one by one.

I can see that Apple has noticed the omission, judging by the 'arrow out of the square' share buttons showing up everywhere from desktop Safari to Mail.app, but it's still very limited and by comparison.

That's an iOS design flaw, not Google's problem.

Yes, Android's intents are nice for allowing users to change that.

I've been using my Nexus 7 for several weeks now. I still think Android has a way to go in the UI/UX area but it seems a lot better in Jelly Bean compared to older versions of Android I have tried.

However, the number one feature I wish I had on my iPhone is the Android intents system. It is seriously great. I'd love to be able to set the default application for different actions. When I tell my Nexus 7 to play a particular song it will now launch Spotify to play the song I requested. I should be able to do this with Siri. This would be a huge feature for me.

If you enable dev mode you get access to a full linux environment, including ssh.

You can even use ssh without dev mode, but it is crippled.