When Apple created the iPhone, the company threw conventional cell phone development practices out the window. Typically, cell phone carriers have powerful control over new phone features - but not with the iPhone, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Cingular agreed to step back and let Apple design its own product, using Apple software, and foregoing Cingular branding on the iPhone case. Executives from the cell service company didn't even see the iPhone until only a couple of weeks before it was announced at Macworld Expo 2007 in early January.

Most of the cell phones Cingular sells are required to use its Web surfing software, ringtone download service, and other services that are tied directly to Cingular. The iPhone, however, uses Apple's Safari Web browser running on top of OS X. So far, it appears that the iPhone operates independently of many of the Cingular-based services other phone makers are bound to.

In fact, Cingular seems to be going out of its way to accommodate Apple. One insider claims that Cingular has agreed to share monthly revenues from iPhone subscribers with Apple.

For the most part, Apple kept Cingular in the dark over iPhone development. There were a few small teams within the company working with Apple, but each operated independently and didn't know what the other teams were focusing on. Even when Cingular sent technicians to Apple to test the iPhone, they didn't get to see the actual device. They worked with a mockup version that showed only the features that needed to be tested.

Even after the iPhone was officially announced, the device has been shrouded in secrecy. Apple and Cingular are continuing development in an undisclosed location, and the few people that do get to see the device are required to sign nondisclosure agreements.

When Apple executives decided to blend an iPod, cell phone, and Internet communication device together, they accomplished something no other phone manufacturer has done so far: Maintaining near complete control over the product from inception to completion. The move may set a precedent for other phone makers hoping to maintain more control over the development of their products.