I like your comment — it points out that our RADAR displays were a both a product of the technology that was used to generate them (the sweep) but also that it was a deliberate way to make clear what it was you were observing (target distance was represented by distance from center, target bearing by angle around the circle).

To your point though, perhaps emulating the sweep was the questionable design decision — the bright colors, map-less background not controversial at all since they help focus on the intent of the display.

I did notice that as I turn with the phone, the compass-tracking feature broke the illusion of the sweep. :-)