Cupertino's misstep has paid dividends for other global-mapping firms. Japanese customers, while bemused by the failings of Maps, already have a better option.

"Mapion is one of Japan's homegrown companies benefiting from Apple's Maps debacle, which has left local owners of the new iPhone 5 flummoxed over erroneous place names, long-outdated landmarks and train stations that appear to hover in the middle of the sea," . "Those errors have prompted legions of users to flock to other map services, including Mapion, which seized the day by promoting a map app it says is among the most obsessively checked and updated in Japan."

Tabuchi reports that downloads of the Mapion iPhone app, which debuted this June, have tripled since the launch of iOS 6. "Apple's Maps have been a disappointment from the start," she wrote. "In central Tokyo, they show a busy Shinjuku subway station in the middle of serene Shinjuku Gyoen park, one of many errors diligently cataloged by Japanese bloggers. The Hinode monorail stop hovers above the waters of Tokyo Bay, which is erroneously labeled 'the North Pacific'."

The Apple's Maps view of the Pearl River Delta is murky when accessed via Hong Kong and Macau telco service providers. But, , Apple leveraged the services of a Chinese mapping company which benefits users with SIM cards from Chinese telcos.

"When Apple released iOS 6...customers in China found more detailed maps covering their country than those overseas," said the WSJ blog, "in part because their data is provided by AutoNavi Holdings, a Chinese mapping company that makes auto navigation systems as well as virtual maps and satellite images." The blog-post adds that "AutoNavi is the most widely used mobile mapping service in China, with 45% market share, according to Analysys International."