Want slow? Try an iPod touch :) Though I definitely agree - that drag-lag feels exactly like it's a UIWebView... hm. I wonder if it is. A very well-constructed one, to be sure, but so far I've only seen supporting evidence, nothing that would make me say "definitely not".
Running on an iPhone 4 here, no real lag, maybe a few milliseconds, but that's natural. What kind of connection are you on and are we talking satellite view or classic view?
Tested on an iPhone 4 and an iPad 3. The animated transitions are very slow, to the point where it only displays a few frames on the iPhone.
I would agree that it gives the app an unpolished feel, that and the sign in nagging. Otherwise the functionality is great.
Personal experience report on an iPhone 4: the app is laggy as hell with one to two seconds of delay when dragging. You have to actively combat inertia to navigate around, and minimal movement occasionally sent me overshooting by multiple screenfuls. Also, it keeps wanting to turn north around on the slightest twist when zooming, which is even harder to handle due to lag.
> Someone else mentioned that it's simply GMaps in a UIWebView - no chance for that.
That's not how it looks, but that's exactly how it feels. Well, that's also how it looks on the login screen given the overflowing sign-in form. The drag lag on the map feels like the typical JS-overriden scrolling. I'd really not be surprised if it is a UIWebView and a properly designed web app (not web site backportedly shoved in as an app).
On this hardware, Apple Maps has a clear victory on the performance and interaction front.