I saw it too. They're exactly the same but they are totally different and not designed for the same purposes, not made to compete, and cater to different audiences.
I think the reason APB was a let down is that people expected a GTA MMO, which is never what was being made.
I think one of the reasons it failed, was that they paid all this attention to the phenomenal character creator, and forgot to pay the same attention to the actual game.