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.

O2 will stop selling the 8GB iPhone, according to an internal memo reported by Engadget. The memo reportedly reads: “Due to the highly successful sales of the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) 8GB I-Phone [sic], supply chain have today run out of stock & will not be replenishing stock of this product as it has now gone to end of life.” Based on the assumption that O2 hasn’t tired of its deal with Apple, this means the next version of the iPhone (3G, greater storage, whatever it may turn out to be) should be appearing in the UK soon. This comes pretty quickly after O2 cut the price by $200.

Analysts are predicting a June 9th launch date for the 3G iPhone, which will correspond with Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference reports IDG. The article notes that “the iPhone shortage is consistent with Apple’s “tendency to wind down inventory ahead of an update”.

The trend toward open networks may be daunting for some wireless carriers, but there are reasons why it can be a very positive development, according to telecommunications consultancy Cambridge Strategic Management Group’s (CSMG) latest report, Mobile Handset Industry Outlook: Impacts of the Shift to Open Mobile Models.

“The example we detail in the study is the iPhone, where AT&T has given up more control than traditionally it has had in product development,” said co-author David Young. “We do expect to see other deals that are similar in that they’re targeting niche customer sets, a really innovative product, and maybe even with a well-known consumer brand, but each one is going to be different. There are relatively few companies that are as well-suited to do what Apple did,” he said.

It’s likely that future deals will be “less sweeping but just as economically interesting,” Young said. For example, they could be application-specific, he said.

“Nothing’s going to stop convergence, but this idea of secondary device types, maybe that people carry in addition, or that are for a specific market – we think that idea has real traction. We believe the most successful model going forward, the most disruptive model will be partnering with carriers. I think the real challenges are finding opportunities for revenue stimulation and cost avoidance,” he said. There has been plenty of emphasis on new revenue ideas but not enough on lowering costs, he said.

“Open isn’t a panacea. There are going to be limits to what an open network can do,” Young noted. Security, complexity and enterprise ISV partnerships will be vital for making open networks truly useful.