When Apple introduced the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS back in June, it also gave the older 8GB 3G model a nice price cut to $99 with a two-year contract. The company used this as a strategy to expand the market for its smartphone with a lower-end alternative. But as inventories dry out, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to use up manufacturing capacity for outdated hardware. Instead of dropping the 8GB version altogether, though, Apple may be thinking of updating it.

According to some unverified documents acquired by Boy Genius Report, Canadian telecom Rogers will transition to a new 8GB iPhone 3GS model from the old 3G. There's no word on when this might happen, but the rumor mill suggests Apple will hold a press event around September to unveil new iPods – and probably a bit more. If true, this will certainly upset many new 3G owners, but at the same time serve as an aggressive move against the $199 8GB Palm Pre.