Apple created bogus prototypes and phony code, and the company even prohibited employees involved with the project from telling their families. Neither Yahoo nor Google, partners in the project, saw the phone until shortly before Steve Jobs’ CES keynote. And Apple’s decision to go with Cingular was in no small part because of the carrier’s willingness to “let Apple be Apple.” Fortune has a fascinating write-up on other tactics Apple used to keep the iPhone secret.
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