Rollins noted that the deal would be similar to an arrangement already in place between Cingular and Radio Shack, where the electronics retailer earns roughly $300 in total for closing new service contracts. Although the terms of Apple's exclusive deal with Cingular have not been made public, the wireless carrier may be hoping to leverage such an incentive program with Apple to help offset expected declines in subscriber growth over the next few years.

In the US, Cingular will be Apple's exclusive US carrier partner for the iPhone, which is due in June. As part of this multi-year partnership, Apple and Cingular are working together to provide innovative new features to mobile phone users, such as iPhone's pioneering and unique Visual Voicemail, a first on any mobile phone in the world, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in January's introduction of the three-in-one device.
"Apple chose Cingular because they are the best and most popular carrier in the US," Jobs said. "We are thrilled to be offering our revolutionary new iPhone exclusively with Cingular, and look forward to working together with them to create some wonderful new features for our customers."

iPhone's Visual Voicemail was co-developed by Apple and Cingular. It's designed to make voicemail as fast and convenient as email by allowing users to go directly to any of their voice messages without listening to any of the prior messages. [url=http://www.cingular.com/home/]Cingular wireless[/url] is the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., serving 58.7 million customers.

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