Apple iPhone 5C could make iPhone 5S sell more

The iPhone 5C is not really cheap. It is just a new version of the iPhone 5.

It has a 4-inch retina display, an A6 processor and an 8MP iSight camera, that were all very much a part of the iPhone 5. What is new is the FaceTime HD camera, iOS 7 and the splash of colours. And, yes, the polycarbonate body. Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president of Worldwide Marketing, summed this up when he said: "The iPhone 5C is everything iPhone 5 was and more, in an all-new design packed with great features."

We had expected the iPhone 5C to take on the Nexus 4, which is priced around Rs 25,000. But at a US price of $549, the iPhone 5C will be taking on the Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly. These are the old rivals of the iPhone 5, and not cheap by any standards.

The big dilemma for customers will be the choice between the 5C and 5S , separated by a mere $100 margin (about Rs 6,500 in India). Would it make sense for them to buy a much superior new phone with the latest processors and a cutting edge fingerprint scanner or buy a sexed up old model? We fear this could put off a lot of people from buying the 5C.

The way the Indian market works, we think the iPhone 5C will only act as a mascot pushing up the sales of the iPhone 5S.