“In a somewhat surprising move, Apple rolled out a cheaper version of the iPhone 5C in certain European and Asian markets Tuesday,” Trefis writes for Seeking Alpha. “The new smartphone is not very different from the existing iPhone 5C models as far as specifications go, but at 8GB, it has half the memory capacity of the previous entry-level 16GB variant. This could be a restricting factor for many smartphone users given the ever-rising memory requirements for downloading new apps and movies.”
“The device is therefore likely to be positioned as an on-ramp for first-time smartphone buyers looking to enter the iOS ecosystem. That the 8GB variant has been launched only in the U.K., France, Germany, Australia and China shows that Apple is looking to target those markets where 4G LTE is either being introduced or is only in the initial stages of adoption,” Trefis writes. :This is probably why the model hasn’t been launched in the U.S., where LTE is a far more established 4G standard.”
“However, instead of discontinuing the 8GB iPhone 4S, Apple has chosen to position the new device between the 8GB 4S and the 16GB 5C in terms of pricing,” Trefis writes. “We believe that this limits the potential number of users that will find the new smartphone appropriate value-for-money given the horde of price-competitive Android options available in the market at similar price points. ”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple’s 8GB iPhone 5c offers just 2.96GB less storage than Samsung’s ’16GB’ flagship Galaxy S5 – March 19, 2014
Apple releases 8GB iPhone 5c worldwide – March 18, 2014