Except this is real life and no company intentionally loses money to look like a hero to Internet nerds.
Except for when Google has done just that. *cough*WebM*cough*
Attempting to call bluffs is something that is done all the time in business. You bet high when you think your opponent has bad cards, force them to fold, and keep things on your terms. Google clearly has the better mapping service and they knew it, they held all the control and according to rumors wanted more. Apple probably thought they had better cards than they do, and are riding this game out.
Apple is likely the biggest loser in all this, it will take a while before their mapping solution is trustworthy, and even longer before people decide to trust it. The gap between Android and iPhone is narrowing, especially with this chink in the armor of their software suite. So, are you saying Apple is intentionally losing money to look like villains to Internet nerds?
I think Apple should be free to run their business how they see fit (within the law), and apparently they don't like being in bed with Google as much as they had once in the past. If Apple suffers too much by not being close with Google either they will get back with Google, adapt, or perish. The market decides, it always does.
I promise you, if the iPhone is an inconvenience to me, I will switch to something that suits me better, I recommend everyone should do the same.