In a move that was widely expected by many over the last one year and sparked many rumours about the company breaking lose, Apple just announced the iPhone 5c, a cheap version of its premium iPhone which have always targeted the high end market segment.
The iPhone 5c is the iPhone as you know it but made from materials many iSheep Apple iDevice fans have been known to detest: plastic. In what is a move that acknowledges the great potential in the huge entry level segment of the market, it is anybody’s guess why some “dirt cheap Androids” have been selling very well in emerging markets and traditional low cost device markets like China and India.
Apple is in that market segment too and it will be fireworks going forward. Though $99 is not what I would call cheap in the East African context, it is a bargain for a device that inherits a huge chunk of its looks and internals from a very successful device model.
Primed to make needless the urge to wait for an iPhone to be two generations behind in order to be affordable to many without contract (and free in countries where there are carrier contracts), the iPhone 5c has the following specs:
- a 4-inch Retina display
- Apple A6 processor
- 8 megapixel camera. There’s an “enhanced” front-facing shooter too
- Networking standards: LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, dual band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity
- Apple loves using vague terms and we have gotten used to it so for the battery you have one that is better than that found on the iPhone 5.
- iOS 7
The iPhone 5c is up for pre-orders (not in our market though) from September 13th and will go on sale in select markets from 20th of the same month.
Contrary to what many had previously speculated, the IPhone 5c will also be available in key iPhone markets like the US and the UK through the usual carriers and also the Apple Online Store.
There’s the 16, 32 and 64 GB version of the device for prices starting from $99 on contract and $549 unsubsidized. Expect the pricing to be a little higher in our market due to absence of carrier subsidies and the newly introduced Value Added Tax on mobile devices.
The iPhone 5c will be available in a range of colours: blue, white, pink, yellow and green. The new iPhone 5c has a polycarbonate casing and will have casings in the same range of colours.
Leave the iPhone 5S alone, this is the real deal if you ask me. It could redefine the unwritten rules of the mid-range and low end market segments where Apple expects it to have the most impact and lure more people into the Apple walled garden (ecosystem).
The hilarious image below will tell you what kind of people will buy the iPhone 5c. (source)
