TECH POP-UPS

The iPone 5C marks a new era in Apple’s mobile onslaught, as the Cupertino-based firm finally breaks rank from premium design and price by offering up a device which is slightly more affordable. Slightly being the key word there. Before you start getting excited about the potential of a “cheap iPhone”, be warmed that the iPone 5C is no mid-range Android rival, because with prices starting a $549 for the 16GB SIM-free handset your’re still talking quite  a lot of money.

If you  fancy doubling your storage capacity to 32GB – remember the 5C in an Apple device so there’s no microSD slot in sight – you can add another $100 to base price. So let’s bust one myth right from the off then although one that Apple never promised in the first place. The iPone 5C is not a cheap, budget device – it’s a slightly cheaper offering compared to the premium, metal clad iPone 5C Which launched alongside this polycarbonate-clad phone.

This is the first time we've seen the varied palette make it to the iPhone range however, prompting some mocking from Nokia who drew comparisons between the 5C and its fluorescent Lumia range and to be fair there is  a small similarity between it and the Lumia 625 front on.However, look beyond that and the iPone 5C does feel structurally sound in the hand, no doubt helped by the steel frame hidden under the polycarbonate exterior and we found we were far less concerned about it smashing. The steel frame also doubles as the 5C’s antenna, meaning there’s no risk of signal dropping if you fancy holding this iPhone in your left hand.

While the likes of the iPone 5C and iPhone 5 are clad front and back in glass causing users to be wary at all times about the state of their  smartphone, the iPone 5C feels like it can be chucked into a bad without us having to worry about its condition when it comes to pulling it back out. It’s reassuring that the iPone 5C feels like it is capable of taking a few knocks, because the slick, unibody plastic finish offers very Little in the way of grip. iPone 5C unboxing, in association with O2 Guru the the same minimalist attitude to buttons has been implemented on the iPhone 5C, with the famous home key the only navigational aid on the front of the device, while the power/lock resides at the top and the separated volume keys on the left.

Just above the volume keys is the small switch which is now synonymous with Apple’s iDevice range, allowing you to quickly toggle silent/volume mode. All the keys are easy enough to reach when holding the iPone 5C in one hand, but thanks to the elongated nature of the device since Apple bumped the screen size up from 3.5 inches to 4 you need to stretch your fingers that extra bit to reach the power/lock button.

We’d much prefer this key to be located on the right hand side of the iPone 5C, as it would make it that bit easier to access and avoids any awkward shuffling of the phone in the hand – but of course that would see Apple copying Samsung in terms of placement, and nobody wants to see any more accusations of copying coming along.

There’s nothing else joining the power/lock key on top of the 5C after Apple relocated the headphone jack to the bottom with the iPhone 5 – a move which isn't to everyone’s taste.  Joining the left aligned headphone jack on the base of the iPone 5C is a centralized is a centralized lightning port and a mono speaker to one side to help you blast your tunes at grannies on the bus or conduct a more civilized speakerphone conversation.Now the right hand side hasn't been left completely alone on the 5C, with Apple choosing this surface as the location for the SIM card tray – but unlike most smartphone that take microSIMs these days, iPhones now rock the tiny nanoSIM technology.

This means you’ll have to talk to your network about getting nanoSIM for your shiny new iPone 5C before you’ll be able to use it – that is unless you’re upgrading from an iPhone 5, but we’d suggest that’s pretty much a waste of money.If you’re coming from a similarly priced Android handset you’ll probably think the iPone 5C feels a little on the small size, with its 4-inch display more at home at the budget end of the rival OS’s line up. While the screen size might not be anything special, the 1136 x 640 Retina display is present and correct on the iPhone 5C, meaning it has the same offering as both the iPhone and 5S.

There are even more similarities  with the iPhone 5, as you’ll find the same A6 processor, 8MP rear camera, 1.9 MP front camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 in the 5C. The  iPone 5C is 4G enabled of  course, but more supports even more bands meaning it’ll work even more networks around the world – Apple claims the 5C and the 5S suuport the widest range of 4G bands out of any somartphone currently on the market. So what have we got so far then? Well, the  iPone 5C is a slightly overweight  iPone 5C with a plastic body, larger battery ad a sightly lower price tag – but with iOS 7 on board, there’s a litany of places where it might it might excel.

Contact management on iOS has always been one of its weaker areas and while iOS 7 has improved things slightly, you still don’t get the best offering on the iPhone 5C. The contacts app itself is almost identical to those in previous iterations of iOS, although there’s a iOS 7 gloss over the top, which means you’re provided with a simple, inoffensive list of names with a letter slider on the right allowing you to quickly jump to a section.

Thankfully things improve when we move over to actually calling people on the iPhone 5C,  and let’s face that’s what the  iPone 5C, the 5C, and let’s face what matters as this is a phone. As with the  iPone 5C, the 5C sports a triple microhone setup which  blocks out noise around you to focus your dulcet tones down the handset and into the lug holes of the person on the other  end of the line. SO the 5C has decent audio quality when it comes to calls, but that means nothing if it can’t hold on to signal. Thankfully the antenna gremlins which plagued the iPhone 4 have long gone and the large steel frame which acts as the mast for the 5C is hidden under the plastic body – meaning they’ll be no unfortunate death drip here.

FACE TIME

The added benefit of picking yourself up an iPhone is the fact you get access to Apple’s video calling service Face Time – allowing you to make video calls to other iDevice users over Wi-Fi and via your 3G or 4G network. Then front facing, 1.2MP camera on the  iPone 5C is snapper in question when it comes to Face Time and it’s ability to record in 720p means quality tends to be very good – as long as your signal is strong enough. You can also switch from the front to the rear facing camera, just in case you want to share your view with the person on the other end of the call, which is a nice touch. 

No surprise in the internet department: the  iPone 5C is an Apple device so you can be guaranteed there’s no sign of Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer-installed. It’s Safari all the way.

Google has made its Chrome browser available in the App Store, but don’t give up on Apple’s offering straight away as it’s really rather nifty.

With the  iPone 5C being pretty much a carbon copy of the  iPone 5C you won’t be surprised to learn that it sports the same 8MP iSight camera on its rea, complete with single LED flash. The front facing snapper has been given a bit of an upgrade though, with a 1.2MP offering capable of HD (720p) recording – but it’s the one on the back which you’ll be using most of the time. You  can access the camera application from the lockscreen, just place your finger on the camera icon and slide your finger up, plus you can easily access it from pretty much anywhere on the iPhone 5C y pulling up the Control Center and hitting the correct icon.

Video recording on the  iPone 5C can be accessed by heading to the camera app and swiping your finger from left to right over the shutter key to switch between the ability to capture static and moving images. The rear 8MP iSight camera is capable of capturing video in full HD, 1080p resolution at 30fps, while the front facing camera has been upgraded to support 720p recording. As with the camera app your’re options here are severely  limited, with the option to switch between front and rear cameras and toggle the flash on and off. If you want to use the flash light while filming you’ll need to turn it on before hitting record as there’s not option to toggle it once you’re running. Video quality is pretty good as long as you keep the  iPone 5C  still and don’t zoom in, because as soon as you start zooming things get blurry and pixelated.

We’re not sure what size battery the  iPone 5C is hiding under that polycarbonate finish, but  Apple assures us it’s a bigger offering than the  iPone 5C and we’re inclined to agree. In short we've been pretty impressed with the battery performance on the   iPone 5C, it only drops 3% to 4% overnight with various accounts syncing throughout the down line and with medium levels of usage it comfortable saw out a day.

Overnight drain has haunted past iPhones, but it looks like Apple may have managed to resolve the issue with the 5C.

Unsurprisingly the  iPone 5C comes will all manner of connectivity options., but NFC is still the high-profile absentee at the Apple party. Not even a plastic clad smartphone could tempt the firm to give us a bit of contactless tech. There’s a new way to control Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 is iOS 7 with arrival of the Control Center, which is accessed with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Apple offers its own cloud storage solution cunningly named iCloud which lets you store all your vital information in its secure servers should the worst happen to your  iPone 5C. You can back ukp everything from contacts, mail and calendars to photos, documents and notes to iCloud, and if you've owned an iDevice in the pas you can download your settings from that onto your  iPone 5C – saving  you from having to re-enter various bits of information. iCloud also enables the “Find my iPhone” feature, so if you were to misplace your 5C you can log onto the iCloud website and see where your phone is on a map.

The  iPone 5C leaves us feeling a little puzzled. On the one hand it’s a great smartphone, and being a carbon copy of the  iPone 5C in terms of performance is certainly no bad thing – but its price tag, overall design and lack of glass-based, premium feel leaves a slightly unpleasant taste in the mouth. While many hoped to see the ‘budget iPhone’,  it’s good to see  the  iPone 5C not comprising on specs and bar the lack of a metal chassis it matches the excellent  iPone 5C every step of the way with the added bonus of iOS 7. The inclusion of iOS 7 is a massive boon for the iPhone range in  general. The operating system was in dire need of a reboot and iOS 7 has managed to do that with aplomb, bringing a couple of handy new features such as Control Center to the relative simplicity and solid, fluid interface Apple has offered since its inception.

Super fast network speeds go hand in hand with web browsing and the  iPone 5C makes mincemeat of most desktop websites, even over Wi-Fi and 3G. It’s not that Apple has done its best to make the packaged its hard to recommend it totally although the large range of colours and combination with iOS 7 helps enormously.