Steve Jobs, relatia cu AT&T in dezvoltarea iPhone-ului si succesul neasteptat

  In procesul de dezvoltare al primului iPhone, Steve Jobs s-a bazat extrem de mult pe AT&T, Cingular in perioada dinainte de 2007, cu care a colaborat in mod constant. Cei de la Forbes prezinta cateva detalii ale acestei relatii si totul incepe cu un telefon dat de catre Jobs lui Ralph de la Vega, COO-ul Cingular. Jobs vroia sa afle de la acesta care este cea mai buna modalitate de a implementa chip-urile radio in terminalele iPhone, insa avea in fata un manual de 1000 de pagini care nu ii era de prea mult ajutor.

Steve Jobs needed some advice. It was 2006, and Apple was working on the design for its first smartphone. Jobs had questions about its radio. So he called up Ralph de la Vega, Cingular Wireless’ chief operating officer, who had helped broker the exclusive deal between Jobs and the telco, soon to be part of AT&T Inc., to carry the phone. ” ‘How do you make this device be a really good phone?’ ” de la Vega recalls Jobs asking. ‘ “ I’m not talking about how to build a keyboard and things like that. But I’m saying the innards of a radio that worked well.’ ” AT&T had a 1,000-page manual that detailed how suppliers should build a mobile radio optimized for its network. “

He said, ‘Well, send it to me.’ So I sent him an e-mail. Thirty seconds, he calls me back. ‘Hey, what the … ? What’s going on? You’re sending me this big document, and the first 100 pages have to do with the standard keyboard,’ ” de la Vega says, laughing. ‘ “ Sorry we didn’t take those first 100 pages out, Steve. Forget those 100 pages. Those don’t apply to you.’ He says, ‘Okay,’ and he hangs up the phone.”

  Acel manual trebuia respectat de catre toti cei care produceau telefoane mobile pentru Cingular, insa in cazul Apple primele 100 de pagini au fost date uitarii deoarece in ele se explica metoda de implementare a  unei tastaturi fizice, iar iPhone-ul nu avea nevoie de asa ceva. Aceasta decizie a COO-ului a dat nastere multor discutii in cadrul Cingular, Apple fiind prima companie careia i-a fost facuta o concesie de acest gen. Problema era ca nimeni nu stia ce pregatea Apple atunci, De la Vega semnand un contract de confidentialitate care il obliga sa nu dea detalii despre iPhone nici macar superiorilor directi, oameni care nu intelegeau de ce Apple are parte de tratament preferential.

News quickly spread inside Cingular that Apple didn’t have to adhere to the specs, an act deemed blasphemous by the carrier’s CTO, who rang up de la Vega and called him “crazy” for “giving in to Apple.” De la Vega had signed a nondisclosure agreement in Jobs’ office that was so secretive it prevented him from describing the device to his bosses except in the most general terms. Board members didn’t even get to see one until after the deal was signed. “I said, ‘Trust me, this phone doesn’t need the first hundred pages.’ ”

  Intre conducerea Cingular si Apple a existat o relatie reciproca de incredere si in final ea s-a dovedit a fi extrem de benefica pentru ambele companii. In 2007 Cingular a devenit AT&T, iar echipa de conducere a dorit sa-si promoveze noul brand prin lansarea iPhone-ului, o decizie extrem de inteleapta, deoarece acum numele companiei este cunoscut in intreaga lume si legat direct de terminal. Totusi, in 2007 decizia de a avea iPhone-ul in propria retea s-a dovedit a fi una dificila, mai ales dupa ce operatorul a constatat ca dispozitivul necesita o retea de internet mult mai puternica fata de cea existenta, analistii companiei preconizand initial ca utilizatorii nu vor folosi foarte intens conexiunile de date.