Apple has yet to set a date for the Australian release of the iPhone but Telstra's Sensis is already gearing up to create mobile applications specifically for the device.

The advertising and directories arm of Australia's biggest telco, which operates properties such as Yellow Pages, Trading Post and WhereIs.com, has advertised for a business analyst to create iPhone search applications.

"We're looking for a BA (business analyst) with a technical front-end UI (user interface) background to help us design cutting-edge search applications for the iPhone," the Sensis job advertisement reads.

Some have interpreted this as evidence that Telstra may have won exclusive rights to sell the iPhone here, but Danielle Horan, Sensis corporate affairs adviser, said the company did not know which carrier would bring the iPhone to Australia yet.

"We actively plan and develop mobile applications for a wide range of new devices, including the iPhone, which is a great device, with some impressive capabilities," she said.

"In other markets we've seen big uplifts in the use of mobile applications by iPhone users and so we are making sure we are well placed to have our applications such as Yellow Mobile, Whereis Mobile, Citysearch Mobile and Sensis Search meet the needs of users."

In the US, the iPhone has been responsible for a surge in mobile web browsing because, rather than displaying cut-down versions of websites, it displays them just as they appear on a regular PC.

This is partly enabled by the touch screen interface, which lets users zoom in on certain sections of a web page by pinching their finger tips or double-tapping images and text.

Telstra was widely rumoured to be Apple's iPhone carrier partner in Australia until January when Optus emerged as the dark horse.

Thailand's largest mobile operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), said it was negotiating a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Asia.

The telco's chief marketing officer, Sanchai Thiewprasertkul, told the Bangkok Post that AIS was collaborating with Singapore Telecom (SingTel) and Optus to launch the iPhone throughout the region.

Optus is a wholly owned subsidiary of SingTel, and SingTel owns 21.4 per cent of AIS.

Both Optus and Apple at the time declined to comment, however, regardless of which carrier is chosen, the phone-music player hybrid will debut in Australia this year.

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