I'm sure Samsung paid a pretty penny for 'exclusive' GPS Google Maps for a given time frame, probably just long enough to last through the phone's initial craze. The real question is, when that exclusive contract runs out in 6 months to a year, will Google release the GPS version for other phones, or make another exclusive contract with another vendor?
I hope they will release it (or make a contract with RIM
) but its hard to say what they will do... They do reserve the 'best' technology to sell to make money, but at the same time, they've got a reputation for giving away all sorts of things that no other company would give away for free.
Future contracts they may form might even be as simple as "Google maps, preinstalled, and preconfigured", which would be a value to the customers, most of whom don't know the meaning of OTA, and wouldn't know the first thing about configuring a Bluetooth puck. Not as valuable as an exclusive contract, but still offers value, "Blah blah blah phone! The only one with Google Maps GPS ready to rock the moment you turn on the phone! Woo!"
I suppose we'll see...
peace,
sam