The Times Online is reporting today that the UK and German discounts on 8GB iPhones are an attempt to clear inventory ahead of the launch of the 3G iPhone.
The report which fails to state any sources claims that Apple has already placed orders for the 3G iPhone:
Times Online understands that Apple has placed an order with its Asian suppliers to produce 200,000 of the new 3G iPhones by the end of May, rising to 2 million - 500,000 per week - in June.
The report also states that the next-generation iPhone will be "radically different" in appearance:
Among the possibilities are flip version, which would enable the screen to be larger, and a sliding model with a regular qwerty keyboard - as opposed to a touchscreen one.
As stated above the report states no direct sources. It should also be noted that Steve Jobs initially criticised physical keyboards on phones and a major change in interface would cause a problem for those currently developing for the iPhone using the SDK.