Just after Apple launched the iPhone 5 last year there were calls for the company to start thinking about offering a low cost version of the iPhone. It was said that Apple needed a cheaper iPhone if it was to continue to gain marketshare at a time when smartphone ownership was starting to reach...

This iPhone feels great to hold; there's great choice of colours to suit any personality; battery life promises to be better

Not as cheap as expected; colours won't be to everyone's taste; the iPhone 5s doesn't cost a lot more

Last year Apple defied expectation and released the iPad mini , a dinky version of its iconic tablet which we loved thanks to its easy-to-grip-and-carry nature. This year, we expected the mobile giant to surprise us all again by unleashing a budget version of the iPhone.

Bold colours; Usual great Retina screen; App Store

Limited storage; Below average media battery life; Still quite expensive

Apple's iPhone 5C is a quality device that is as easy to use as its predecessors. However, its price and position in the market mean it doesn't seem to serve any particular demands.

Fast; light; comfortable to hold; good camera

Expensive; no Touch ID fingerprint scanner; plastic design; not Apple's flagship device

The iPhone 5C's cute, plastic body allows for a much-needed injection of colour and fun into the iPhone range. It's powerful enough for nearly anything you throw at it and it has a decent camera too.

Attractive, colourful design; Easy to use iOS 7 software; Enough power for most tasks; Decent battery life

Top-end 5S is not much more expensive; Same size and resolution as previous models; Camera struggles in low light

When we reviewed Apple's new top of the range iPhone 5S we really liked it. Powerful, well designed, and with that all important great app store, it's a no brainer for any Apple fan. The iPhone 5C is a more slippery customer to evaluate.

Great quality screen; Solid build quality; Nice choice of colours

Not a big advance on the iPhone 5; Battery life could be better; Relatively expensive

The iPhone 5C is quite a surprise, coming from a company which traditionally creates premium, high end products. It makes sense though as there's a lot of money to be made in the mid-range smartphone market. The question is can the iPhone 5C really compete?

Intuitive OS; great screen and reasonable specs

Plastic build; overpriced

The C in iPhone 5C stands for colourful, and that's the experience Apple wants you to have with its plastic-backed reimagination of the earlier iPhone 5. We've had the iPhone 5C in our pocket since the Apple launch event in Berlin.

Colourful; solid; iOS 7 on board; good camera

Virtually same as iPhone 5; still as expensive as iPhone 5 was; cases don't look considered

If you can overlook the cases, colours and marketing (and they're big ifs), the 5c's a powerful, smart package, with a great OS

An iPhone 5 for less; iOS 7 lives up to the hype; Excellent new camera app

Colour theming will alienate diehards; Legibility issues with some fonts and icons; Still too darn expensive

Summary: If you're an existing iPhone user and weren't tempted by the iPhone 5, then the colourful 5c is worth considering as an upgrade. However, iPhone 5 owners should think carefully: there's very little difference between the core specifications of the two handsets, and iOS 7 is just a download...

Excellent 4-inch Retina display; Solid build quality; Available in a range of colours; Good battery life

Relatively expensive for a mid-range smartphone; Similar specifications to the iPhone 5

The iPhone 5C is Apple's plastic and colourful smartphone. Read our iPhone 5C review to find out more about what we think of the iPhone 5C one year on.