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As I was falling asleep last night I was thinking to myself, Why Cingular? Why did Apple announce a phone and strap themselves to the carrier like every other Mobile Device Maker (Palm, Microsoft, etc).

You see, a couple of months ago I was asked by a co-worker what I thought of the possibility of the iPhone. I responded that I thought it was real, that is was going to be amazing, groundbreaking, and that I think Apple would break free from the handcuffs that the Carriers have on every technology company... perhaps by launching their own phone brand like Virgin.

You see, by partnering with Cingular, Apple is now subject to a few very annoying things:

• They cannot release the device before Cingular can field test the device. This can take anywhere from 3 - 6 months. If Apple is releasing the phone in June, they better hope Cingular fast tracks this testing. If they do a rush job it's possible that coverage and radio reliability sucks in some places.
• They cannot release the device before Cingular gets its say. That ultimately means installing a bunch of craplets on the device and generally messing up the phone in some way.
• They will require customers to sign a 2 year contract to buy the device. They do this because they are subsidizing the device. You think the price that Steve Jobs put up on that screen at Macworld is how much Apple can afford to sell it to you? Nope, it costs more than that, which is why Cingular is happy to absorb some of that cost to lock you into their network for 2 years.
• You want a new iPhone when the next one is announced at Macworld 2008, or when the battery dies? Well you are screwed. You have to now pay an out of contract price (which is likely $200 more than the prices Steve quoted). This is because Cingular hasn't finished eating the cost of subsidizing the phone for you, and the next time they do this they want you for another 2 years. Cingular typically allows you to purchase a new phone and the discounted price 18 months after the start of your contract.
• You want that new software update with all the bug fixes that Apple has been working on? Sure, just plug in your iPhone and iTunes will take care of..... NOPE.... wrong again. The carrier (Cingular) needs to test this out, and they need to make sure it's field test etc.

Anyway, you get the picture right? This is the reality that everyone else faces (like Microsoft Phone Makers, RIM, Palm). Is Apple going to be allowed to "break" these rules? Well if they do, Cingular better think about extending that courtesy to, um, the rest of us. I sure would like it if Microsoft could update my Samsung BlackJack with bug fixes.

Now, what I thought would happen is that Apple would give the carriers the boot, and go it alone... selling an unlocked device themselves that customers could then go and plop in a SIM card from T-Mobile or Cingular (sorry Sprint/Verizon customers, you don't have this luxury... carrier still owns you) thereby circumventing all the nasties that us geeks hate about carriers. It's not clear that Apple can just drop in a software update direct to you.

But instead they got Cingular up on stage... I'm not sure why but I think Cingular gets more out of this relationship than Apple... thanks to Number Portability etc Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint are probably not happy. Cingular is likely to get a wave of switchers when the iPhone is in stores.

Of course people that don't use Cingular, or don't want to use Cingular are going to bitch endlessly to Apple... but Cingular won't care. They'll be selling you some overpriced data plan with a 2 year contract.

2 years is a long time to own a lifestyle device like the iPhone assuming it lasts that long before it's stolen, broken, can't hold a charge or you see the next version and want that.

Update: PC Mag tells us what Cingular gets in this deal.