­Apple has issued a rare apology to its customers -- and has said sorry for the state of the new mobile mapping service which has been both a source of frustration for users, and of funny images for blogs.

In the letter, sent to iOS customers, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said "We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."

"The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you."

However, in accepting that the Apple maps service just isn't good enough yet, he then said something that his predecessor would have never allowed -- he suggested that customers try alternatives by "downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app."

At least he didn't try to blame the users for holding the phone wrong.