Apple and America Movil announced they have signed a deal to bring the iPhone to more than a dozen Latin American countries. The carrier said it plans to offer Apple’s handset across all of its Latin American operations starting later this year, but didn’t give any other details of the arrangement.

Apple also recently announced deals to offer its only handset with Rogers Communications in Canada; Telecom Italia in Italy; and Vodafone Group in 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey. Based on its report for the quarter ending March 31, Apple has sold 5.4 million iPhones worldwide so far; the company stands firm with its goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year.

France Telecom (NYSE: FTE), owner of the Orange network, is in talks with Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to sell the iPhone in other countries, according to the company’s CFO Gervais Pellissier. Dow Jones reports that Pellissier revealed that the discussions were for more than “just two countries.” He also said that France Telecom was “pleased with the success” of the company’s exclusive deal with Apple that has another two and a half years to run—quashing recent rumours that the French group had balked at Apple’s supposed insistence that they slash iPhone prices to boost sales. Pellissier also said that he expected a 3G iPhone to boost sales in France, where Orange has sold over 100,000 of the device.

Yesterday, Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) announced it would be selling the iPhone in ten countries. News later surfaced that its deal in Italy is not an exclusive one, after Telecom Italia announced they too would be selling the device. Thomson Financial, meanwhile, picked up a story today from Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias, which reported Tuesday than Vodafone’s Portugal deal is not an exclusive one either, though it did not cite a source. Portuguese networks Portugal Telecom and Sonaecom are reportedly still negotiating with Apple over distributing the iPhone.

In Australia Vodafone declined to say whether the deal to sell the iPhone was exclusive, reports the SMH, and it’s a short jump to the conclusion that it is therefore not exclusive. “Mark Novosel, telecommunications market analyst at IDC, said the fact that Vodafone hasn’t announced whether the deal is exclusive indicates the iPhone will be sold by all carriers…He said it is likely Vodafone will sell the iPhone at a discount and lock it to its network, in which case Apple would sell an unlocked version – capable of running on any carrier – through its own stores.”

Another handset manufacturer turning to the mobile internet to boost sales. Today, at a splashy launch at the smart Soho Hotel in London, Peter Chou, president and CEO of Taiwanese handset maker HTC, declared 2008 the year of the mobile internet as he brandished the company’s latest device, the HTC Touch Diamond, which promises one touch access to a number of features, including the mobile web, photos and music among others, but will in most consumers’ eyes appear to be another iPhone knock-off.

That’s not to say the handset, which runs on Windows Mobile latest 6.1 version, isn’t a worthy contender. The device sports a 3D user interface, a 2.8 inch display that allows users to zoom in on content with the touch wheel or tilt it by turning it on its side, is a mere 11.5 mm thick, making it even thinner than the iPhone, and includes a 3.2 megapixel camera and 4 GB of storage. The handset’s designers were challenged with building a device that would be worthy of a place at the Museum of Modern Art and be instantly recognizable from across the street. They did this by creating an uneven surface of diamond shaped panels on the back of the phone. It certainly is recognizable, though it’s a matter of personal taste whether its MOMA-worthy. More importantly, it beats the iPhone in the speed department, and runs on HSDPA networks.

The company obviously has high hopes for the Touch Diamond, which it claims has been in the works starting in November 2006 and launches in Europe and Asia in June. HTC’s Chief Innovation Officer Horace Luke believes the device could help the company gain market share, and pointedly told Moconews that it was the company’s “culture of innovation” that separated it from the struggling Motorola (NYSE: MOT). Will it be able to set itself apart from the iPhone and the growing number of iPhone killers on the market? HTC has done a good job securing a number of operator deals, having worked closely with them to tweak the phone to their liking. In the UK alone, the phone will launch with all five of the country’s biggest networks. Orange, which was at the launch as a partner, says it plans to roll out the phone across all 27 of its country markets.

Still, its not hard to see how the HTC Touch Diamond and the growing number of credible iPhone knock-offs, such as the Samsung Instinct, steps up the pressure on Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to innovate even further, and possibly even to reconsider its distribution model. Earlier today, news surfaced that Apple was not doing its usual exclusive deal in Italy, and had signed agreements with both Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and Telecom Italia to carry the iPhone. No details have emerged on what this means for the fat revenue share Apple usually wrings from operators to get the iPhone. But rumors have been bubbling up that Apple’s European operators have not been happy with the way the Cupertino-based company bosses them around. France’s Orange was said to be more than annoyed with Apple’s insistence that they cut prices to boost sales—though the network would be eating the loss. Finally, Apple is obviously not Motorola, but it’s still an important point to note that Motorola was, in part, brought to its knees when LG (SEO: 066570) and Samsung quickly trotted out knock-offs of its hit handset the Razr.