As previously reported, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an apology to iOS device customers today, admitting that the Maps product, which the company replaced Google Maps with, is not a great product, and even went so far as to suggest some alternatives for users.

“At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers,” said Cook. “With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.”

“While we’re improving Maps, you can 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,” he said.

Read the full letter here.

Interestingly enough, Cook didn’t just mention some alternatives in the letter, but Apple is actually promoting alternatives in the App Store. In the featured section, there’s a box for “Find maps for your iPhone/iPad,” which points to a selection of Map Apps, including: MotionX GPS Drive, Waze Social GPS traffic & gas, MapQuest, GPS by TeleNav, Navigon USA, CoPilot Live Premium HD, CoPilot GPS, Bing, and AT&T Navigator (hat tip: Drew Olanoff).

Competitors were already touting their offerings as Apple’s customers complained, and now the company appears to be helping them along. This is a good chance for some of these other apps to pick up some users, before Google undoubtedly gets a Google Maps app on iOS. It’s expected sometime before the end of the year.