This morning Apple apologized for the state of their Apple Maps service. In an open letter, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company is "extremely sorry for the frustration" and that it will improve over time wth use, but in an unexpected move, he also suggested a number of alternatives users can try until things get better, including both apps from the iTunes store such as Bing, Waze, and MapQuest, and online services such and Nokia's and even Google's. He hinted, that with a feature built into iOS6, you can even add Google Maps to your homescreen.

It occured to me that most people don't know how to do this, so allow me to make it easier by showing you how:

Step One

Open your Safari browser and go to maps.google.com

Step Two

Once Google Maps is loaded, look at the bottom of the screen for an icon of a box with an arrow flying out of it (typically representing Share or e-mail).

Step Three

From the menu that opens, select the middle option "Add to Home Screen". This will create a new app icon and you'll be prompted to give it a name.

Step Four

Check your phone and you should find a new app icon amongst your catalog for Google Maps. It's not a real app, just a shortcut to the Google Maps webpage, but it works close enough to be a good substitute.

You can repeat this process with any web page, creating app icon shortcuts for any website or online service (including this website if you wish).