The Apple iPhone 5C became available to pre-order on Friday 13th September and despite choosing an unlucky day to bring this phone to market the iPhone 5C will surely be a hit with those who want the Apple experience but without the hefty price tag.

So what does the Apple iPhone 5C offer?

This smartphone is clearly targeted at the younger end of the market as it is encased in a choice of vibrantly colourful covers. These are however interchangeable and there is a white version that may appeal to those a little older.

Some may say that the hard-coated polycarbonate casing (plastic) cheapens the brand but we should probably appreciate that this is targeted at the lower end of the market and the Apple iPhone 5S, which will be launched on Friday 20th September, will be the high-end updated version of this series.

Regardless of which end of the market this smartphone is aimed at the spec is still very respectable and includes a 4-inch display with 326 pixels per inch, an 8 megapixels camera with eight live filters and it runs on the new iOS 7 operating system.

Apps

Access to the Apple App Store/iTunes is the key to enhancing the phones features but there are pre-installed hand-picked Apple apps to get you going.

• FaceTime – Using either a Wi-Fi signal or mobile phone signal the iPhone can make video calls using a secondary forward facing camera. This app also allows you to switch to the iSight camera on the back should you wish to share the scene.

• Maps – Sharpened graphics when zoomed in make this feature handy as you enjoy spoken turn-by-turn directions along with real time traffic reports and if you wish you can enter an interactive 3D map with flyover mode.

• Passbook – This handy piece of software stores all of your plane boarding cards, coupons, cinema tickets etc. and displays them automatically when needed via its location based feature.

• Newsstand – If you love to read but don’t want to carry around a newspaper or magazine then this app is for you. It downloads new additions in the background and a simple tap will take you to the store for more.

• Notes – This is one of those features that is indispensable and will allow you to create shopping lists, makes notes or enter dictation mode for when you’re too busy to type.

• Weather – There is no need to go searching for a weather app as this comes pre-loaded as part of iOS 7. A six day forecast is listed but you may simply want to ask Siri whether to take an umbrella!

Versions

The Apple iPhone 5C is offered in 5 colours, white, pink, yellow, blue and green and there are two memory options, 16GB or 32GB.

The phone will be available on pay as you go or SIM free whilst on a 24-month contract you can pay nothing for the phone up front or pay a token amount up front to receive a lower monthly line rental throughout the contract term.