You're right. I think the thought process likely to go through most consumers heads is either:
"This new maps thing sucks. Oh look, I can get Google's maps again. Thanks Google!"
or
"This new maps sucks. Oh well, the rest of the phone is great."
Google passing up the chance to keep people who already like one of their products happy on the off chance that they can pry Apple consumers away from Apple doesn't strike me as the best decision in the world.
Do most users actively know that the tiles in the iOS 5 Maps application are served by Google? The app itself is Apple top to bottom -- the display does say "Google" in the lower-left-hand corner -- but it would be interesting to know how users think of their iPhone maps application.
"This new maps thing sucks. Oh look, I can get Google's maps again. Thanks Google!"
or
"This new maps sucks. Oh well, the rest of the phone is great."
Google passing up the chance to keep people who already like one of their products happy on the off chance that they can pry Apple consumers away from Apple doesn't strike me as the best decision in the world.