Starting with php 5.3 you can get use of new features of static keyword. Here's an example of abstract singleton class:

<?php

abstract class Singleton {

    protected static $_instance = NULL;

    /**
     * Prevent direct object creation
     */
    final private function  __construct() { }

    /**
     * Prevent object cloning
     */
    final private function  __clone() { }

    /**
     * Returns new or existing Singleton instance
     * @return Singleton
     */
    final public static function getInstance(){
        if(null !== static::$_instance){
            return static::$_instance;
        }
        static::$_instance = new static();
        return static::$_instance;
    }
    
}
?>