Although Apple says that the surprise factor in its product launches helps the company, its need to control information and keep secrets has forced some of its partners to reconsider their relationship with Apple. The Wall Street Journal reports that the intense secrecy culture, in part, caused HP to terminate its relationship with Apple and also discourages large customers from making commitments to buy Apple product, as the company does not provide a roadmap for its products. "Apple often didn't tell H-P about new iPod models until the day before they were introduced to the public, people familiar with the matter say. That left H-P scrambling to package and stamp its name on the jointly branded iPods for months after Apple put its version on sale.

"What's more, Apple insisted H-P work on iPods under tight security, even though Apple's versions in some cases were already sitting on store shelves," according to the report. "For reasons including the secrecy issue, H-P terminated its Apple deal last August."

The report notes that Apple provides different code names to different departments to help track down any leaks and that it also keeps disclosure lists about who is briefed on each product. The report also says that when employees receive documents containing sensitive information about unannounced products, the documents are often watermarked with the recipient's name--a practice that is meant to discourage carelessness.