U.S. and European handset demand was “lackluster” in August, creating pressure on pricing, Pacific Crest’s James Faucette asserted in a research note this morning.

Faucette says says handset sell-through is up sequentially from July, but below expectations for the beginning of the back-to-school season. He adds that “price pressures on handsets continue to mount.” He notes that the mix of Apple (AAPL) iPhone 3G sales during August has shifted “decidedly” toward the $199, 8GB model. He says that will increase the difficulty of selling other smartphones “in the usual $250 to $300 range.”

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Buy a Mac, get an iPod Touch for free.

That’s Apple’s (AAPL) 2008 back-to-school promotion for this year, which started yesterday: qualified individuals who buy a Mac from now until Sept. 15 can get a 100% rebate on the purchase of an iPod Touch or an iPod Nano. Under terms of the offer, you get a $199 rebate on the 8GB Nano, or $299 on any storage capacity Touch.

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