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A report has it that the French iPhone distributor, Orange, has been offering its customers who have previously purchased the iPhone a trade-up deal for old handset with the newer iPhone models once it is available. Orange was said to be calling customers encouraging them to trade up to the new version of the iPhone. One trade-up deal was even offering a discounted price of 50 euros for the 3G iPhone in exchange for the “old version.”

Although Orange has not yet confirmed the report, it is still also unknown whether this is going to be a permanent arrangement in marketing the iPhone, or   just a temporary promotion to encourage users to shift to the newer models of the iPhone. If indeed true, this is the first time that an Apple partner will be offering a subsidized model that rewards Apple instead of splitting monthly service revenues between Apple and its partner.

Now, if Orange pushed through with this plan, and consumers take the offer, the question is what will happen to the returned iPhones? Will Orange offer these iPhone on a refurbished deal? Or will they go somewhere else? If you would recall, Apple has already announced the release of the iPhone in Asian countries despite the scarcity of iPhone supplies in the US. We could not help but wonder if this is all part of a bigger Apple plan.

Via [Electronista]