Why an iTunes phone instead of software?

I was chatting with C.K. today about why Apple, Motorola and Cingular shook hands on an iTunes phone, instead of Apple just going ahead and making a client (probably in java) so that all sorts of phones could use it. I was listening to a great podcast, Inside Silicon Valley (iTMS link), that presented an insightful answer to this very question, and I tend to agree.

Here's how it breaks down: since the wireless networks have been talking about debuting their own wireless download services for phones for a while now, Apple probably wouldn't have made a whole lot of headway into this mobile phone music market without coming up with something they could sell to both a wireless provider and a hardware manufacturer. By working with Motorola and Cingular to create a dedicated and *exclusive* iTunes phone, everybody wins: Apple gets to sell more music, the wireless networks rake in precious boatloads of new subscribers and Motorola gets to sell a ton of special little phones.

While I really don't want one of those phones – I'm heading out the door soon to pick up a 4 GB black iPod nano – this reasoning makes a lot of sense to me. Anyone else want to weigh in?