Apple launches cheaper iPhone 5C version

APPLE has introduced an new version of the iPhone 5C handset, it will cost about €60 less than its €599 counterpart.

In addition, an 8GM iPhone5C handset at €539 works out more expensive than today's €349 8GB iPhone 4s.

The iPhone 5C originally launched with a choice of 16GB and 32GB options.

O2 is currently the only carrier to have revealed prices for the new model, though other operators will undoubtedly follow suit.

In all other respect the 5C will be identical to the launch model, featuring the latest version ofApple’s iOS software, version 7.0, a 4-inch Retina display, an 8-megapixel camera and Apple’s A6 processor. This gives it nearly identical specs to the iPhone 5, with only the colourful polycarbonate plastic shell really setting it apart.

When the 5C launched alongside the high-end 5S last year it seemed that Apple likely that Apple would try to capture more of the low-end smartphone market with a cheaper device.

However, it seems that Apple set the price too high, and although exact sales figures of the 5C are uncertain (Apple bundles together sales for the two devices) CEO Tim Cook has said that “the mix was stronger to the 5S”.

In our original review of the pair of devices we said that while that 5C was "a more powerful phone phone than last year’s iPhone 5, with a longer-lasting battery and improved front-facing camera" it was the iPhone 5s that was "the main event".

This doesn’t mean the 5C is doing terribly – it’s thought to have sold better in the middle spot of Apple’s portfolio than the 4S, the handset that became second tier when the iPhone 5 came out – but this new memory option suggests Apple still wants more from the plastic fantastic device.