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I t was one of the biggest tech headlines of the year in September, Apple dropped its contract with Google, which had always supplied the data for the iPhone's Maps app. For various strategic reasons, Apple preferred to write a new app, based on a new database of the world that Apple intended to assemble itself. As everybody knows by now, Apple got lost along the way. It was like a 22-car pileup. Timothy Cook, Apple's chief executive, made a quick turn, publicly apologizing, firing the executive responsible and vowing to fix Maps. For a company that prides itself on flawless execution, it was quite a detour. Rumors swirled that Google would create an iPhone app of its own, one that would use its seven-year-old, far more polished database of the world. That was true.Google Maps for the iPhone has arrived. It's free, fast and fantastic. Now, there are two parts to a great maps app. There's the app itself - how it looks, how it works, what the featur...