When Cingular chief Stan Sigman backed the original iPhone before its 2007 unveiling, he accepted terms American carriers usually refused: no logo on the device, no control over its software, no preloaded apps, and a share of monthly subscriber revenue flowing back to Apple, after signing on without seeing a prototype (opens in new tab)

Cingular signed on to sell the original iPhone before its executives had seen a working prototype, then gave Apple the kind of control American wireless carriers had spent years refusing to handset makers. The agreement made Cingular the exclusive U.S. carrier for a phone Apple had not yet shown to the public. It also kept […]