Another link:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/09...pping-app-yet/
They could have one ready to go in the background and they'd probably still say that, that's actually a good ploy on Google's part, try to capitalize on some of the dissatisfaction with the Apple Maps. They'll do it eventually but if they submitted a great app tomorrow Apple probably would't approve it for a long time anyway.
It'll come eventually.