While it is not quite a curate’s egg, Apple’s mid-range iPhone 5c is a well-balanced evolution of the iPhone 5 that makes some safe choices without endangering the brand. There are some small improvements over last year’s iPhone 5 hardware, notably the update to iOS7. Apple has bundled even more first-party software to make the handset feature-rich out of the box. This is all wrapped up in the new colorful shells that make the iPhone 5c stand out in a retail sea of charcoal and white smartphones.

虽然iPhone 5c称不上不好不坏，但苹果（Apple）这款中档手机在iPhone 5的基础上兼顾了各方面而加以发展，做出了一些稳妥的选择，没有危及公司品牌。相较于去年的iPhone 5，这款手机有一些小小的改进，尤其是系统升级到了iOS 7。苹果为iPhone 5c捆绑了更多的自家应用，使它在拆开包装使用时即具备丰富的功能。这款手机都包裹在五颜六色的新彩壳当中，在由黑与白构成的智能手机海洋中，这些彩壳让iPhone 5c独树一帜。

In previous years, Apple would have simply dropped the price of last year’s model to take the ‘silver’ spot on the iPhone podium. At their September 2013 event they revealed another approach. The iPhone 5c would take the place of the iPhone 5, while the iPhone 5s ( reviewed previously here on Forbes) would become the flagship phone.

在过去几年里，苹果会调低上一年机型的价格，让新iPhone成为旗舰机型。在2013年9月举行的发布会上，他们展示了另一种方法。iPhone 5c将取代iPhone 5的位置，而iPhone 5s则将成为旗舰机型。

Replacing the iPhone 5 has coloured the online viewpoint of the iPhone 5c, making it a cheaper iPhone 5 with the plastic case replacing the metal covering of the earlier models, while retaining the majority of the internals. In fact the iPhone 5c has several advantages over the 2012 flagship in hardware and software. Because the iPhone 5c can be marketed as a new smartphone, it’s a far more attractive handset to retail stores and consumers than a twelve month old iPhone 5.

取代iPhone 5这件事让网络上对iPhone 5c的看法变得多样起来，它成为配备塑料外壳的廉价版iPhone 5，先前机型中的金属外壳不见了，但内部的大部分构件被保留下来。事实上，相对于2012年的旗舰机型来说，iPhone 5c在硬件和软件上均有多项提升。由于iPhone 5c可以作为一款新智能手机进行营销推广，相较于上市销售已有12个月的iPhone 5，它对零售商店和消费者来说更有吸引力。

But we’re here to look at the handset as a whole, not the marketing exercises behind it. Putting aside the casing for the moment, those hardware changes start with the FaceTime camera on the front of the handset. The pixel count has increased to 1.2 megapixels, and there are improvements to the backside illuminated sensor. These result in a clearer picture for voice calls. Battery life has been improved through a mix of software improvements and a slightly larger battery. There are the improved LTE frequencies that allow an iPhone 5c to work in more countries on 4G. That’s great for the frequent traveller who is looking to roam, but I get the feeling that’s not the target market for this handset . What it does offer is another saving for Apple, this time in distribution and management as more worldwide support means less SKUs to manage.

不过，我们在这里是从整体上讨论iPhone 5c，而不是只讨论其背后的营销策略。暂且抛开外壳不谈，iPhone 5c硬件的改进首先从手机正面的FaceTime摄像头开始，其像素数已经提升至120万，而且手机的背照式感光组件也得到了改进。这在进行语音通话时会让图片显示更清晰。通过一系列的软件改进以及装备尺寸稍大一点的电池，iPhone 5c的电池续航时间得以延长。LTE频率的改进则让iPhone 5c能够在更多国家的4G网络中使用，这对经常出差旅行需要手机漫游的人来说非常棒，但我感觉商务人士并非这款手机的目标市场。它为苹果提供的是另一种好处，即分销和管理更加轻松，因为支持更多国家的网络意味着该公司需要管理的库存单位变少了。

Finally you have the big selling point of the iPhone 5c, the colorful polycarbonate plastic casing. Replacing the metal casing that the iPhone 5 had and that the iPhone 5s retains, Apple has reduced the bill of materials cost in making the handset, which makes the traditional discount of $100 between the flagship and the second place model economical. Apple’s strategy continues to focus on high margins and desirable handsets, and the 5c allows them to continue the traditional pricing structure without having to compromise the margin a cheaper aluminium smartphone would offer.

最后，我们终于要谈到iPhone 5c的最大卖点——多彩的聚碳酸脂塑料外壳了。通过替换掉iPhone 5以及iPhone 5s所使用的金属外壳，苹果减少了制造iPhone 5c的物料成本，这让旗舰机型和第二位机型之间100美元的传统差价显得非常经济实惠。苹果的战略继续专注于高利润率和大家都渴望拥有的手机上，iPhone 5c让该公司能够继续执行传统的定价结构，而不必牺牲一款较廉价铝制智能手机所能提供的利润率。

It also allows Apple to bring some rather bright colours into the iPhone range, reaching out to the fashionable market with the handset available in white, red, yellow, blue, and green. iOS7 also provides a dynamic wallpaper for each color to theme the software environment to the case. Apple’s range of colors matches that of the iPod range and while it is a novelty on the iPhone, it simply brings them up to date with other manufactures, notably Nokia.

它同样还让苹果把一些非常明亮的色彩带到iPhone系列产品中来，以白色、红色、黄色、蓝色以及绿色的不同色彩打入时尚的市场。iOS 7还针对每一种颜色提供了动态壁纸，以让软件运行环境跟手机外壳匹配。苹果提供的颜色选择跟iPod系列产品是一样的，尽管这在iPhone上是件新鲜事，但其实也只是跟上了其他手机制造商的步伐，尤其是诺基亚（Nokia）。

What the polycarbonate does do is add slightly to the dimensions of the 5c over the 5s. The colorful model is roughly one millimetre larger in each direction. In a side to side comparison you can appreciate this difference, but in day-to-day use when you just have a 5c it’s not going to make a difference. The weight has also went up, the 5c has found another 20g over the 5s and the iPhone 5. I suspect this is a mix of larger battery and the plastic requiring more volume and mass to have enough strength and rigidity, although this is aided by an internal steel frame.

聚碳酸酯外壳让iPhone 5c要比5s稍微厚一点，前者在各个方向上都要比后者大上1毫米左右。把这两款手机并排放在一起比较，你就能看出这种区别，不过当你只有一台5c时，这在日常使用中不会有什么影响。重量同样增加了，5c的重量比5s和iPhone 5要多20克。我怀疑这是因为5c装备了更大的电池，而且塑料也需要更多的体积和质量来提供足够的强度和刚度——虽然有内置的钢架进行支撑。