You can download google maps. But when you use voice commands and say "Navigate to ..." by default it uses VZ Navigator, a paid service, and that cannot be changed without root currently. You'd have to open google maps and then navigate. Maybe not a big deal to some but it makes it a little more cumbersome than it is on other android phones.
As far as changing the browser homepage, again that cannot be done with out root currently. Verizon has even admitted that the browser default to Bing cannot be changed (you will be able to after froyo hits the device, but who knows when that will happen). The same thing when you use the search widget, it defaults to Bing. I have heard you can place a shortcut on the homescreen for google.com, or bookmark it and then navigate to it after you open the browser, but again they took something simple and made it not so much so.
What kills me is not allowing you to use google on a google OS. I could see putting Bing on as a preinstalled app, letting you set it as default if you want to. But doing what they did is like buying a chevy and finding out it's got a ford motor. Some people might not mind that, but for some (most?) it probably won't sit well with them. I don't recall seeing that Bing was mandatory in their early sales literature, so there were probably a few early adopters who got an unwelcome surprise. Not a good move if that soured them on samsung products.
