It is claimed that iPhone owners in France are being offered discounts on a future 3G handset.

French magazine PC INpact says that customers with phone company Orange could potentially trade in their existing model and pay a €50 upgrade fee.

An alternative deal is claimed to involve owners keeping their existing iPhone but getting a "generous subsidy" from the company.

Both Orange and Apple have yet to respond to the magazine's claims.

Apple has previously had a fixed price principle, which was recently broken to clear large amounts of stock in the UK and Germany. This included a £100 price drop for the 8G model through provider O2 in the UK, according to appleinsider.com.

The website suggests that Apple may have to subsidize consumers to continue the momentum of iPhone sales.

It reports that analysts feel the next generation of the device may need "more than just publicity" to generate sales.