Behind the music-playing cellphone

It was a match made in a heaven brimming with money: the wireless carrier with the gaudy orange mascot and the sleek monochromatic tech company. We’ve the fruits of the union, but what about the process that brought us to the point? For that, we invite you to tune into “The WSJ True Hollywood Story: iPhone.”

Peer into the inner workings of the Cingular-Apple deal; see Apple’s ill-fated attempt at a liaison with Verizon and Cingular’s murmurs of discontent over Apple’s compulsion for control and Steve Jobs’s constant abuse and critiques:

Mr. Jobs once referred to telecom operators as “orifices” that other companies, including phone makers, must go through to reach consumers. While meeting with Cingular and other wireless operators he often reminded them of his view, dismissing them as commodities and telling them that they would never understand the Web and entertainment industry the way Apple did, a person familiar with the talks says.

But it wasn’t until the birth of the iPhone at Macworld Expo this year that the two parties finally managed to set aside their differences. Well, that is, up to the point that Cingular CEO Stan Sigman tried to hog the Apple CEO’s limelight, leaving Steve Jobs desperately cursing the engineers who wouldn’t install that trap door he’d wanted.

[via Daring Fireball]