[citation][nom]lewist[/nom]I think this makes you realize that the success of one company even though they are the competition can be beneficial in more ways than you can imagine. Apple must surely realize that they wouldn't have a competitive edge against Google maps, considering how many resources Google have poured into their maps tech. Perhaps in their arrogance they have learned that age old saying "don't cut off your nose despite your face, and now have to eat some humble pie, how sweet that pie must look from Google's side of the table.[/citation] "To spite", not 'despite', haha.
It wasn't about competitive edge (well, not only) - Apple wanted to add turn-by-turn navigation, which Google would not allow, presumably as it was a selling point for their Android ecosystem. Apple are still contracted and could still use Google's services as before if they wished, they're just choosing not to. Soon the contract will expire, though.
Now that Apple put turn-by-turn in a default app, Google's added turn-by-turn in their new Google Maps for iPhone to remain competitive (there was little business reason to exclude iOS from turn-by-turn now that it was no longer a feature-win for Android). Presumably they get all the data they get from Android handsets using turn-by-turn (when navigating, Android handsets report data to Google which can be used to ascertain live traffic conditions, travelling distances, times and destinations, and more) from this new pool of several+ million users, so Google win too, really, and this will further improve the accuracy of their own mapping service.