Although it does not come as a surprise considering all the latest rumors and leaks, it is still a history moment as Apple has now announced the iPhone 5-based iPhone 5c that will be sold for US $99 for 16GB version on a two year contract in the US.

The new iPhone 5c features a 4-inch Retina 1136x640 screen, Apple's A6 chipset, iOS 7, 8-megapixel rear camera capable of recording 1080p, as well as front-facing camera - it is basically an iPhone 5 clad in plastic. Connection wise, it comes with 100Mbps LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band 802.11abng WiFi.

The catch is that this time around, the iPhone 5c is coated in plastic, rather than aluminum. Despite the fact that Apple markets it as "beautifully, unapologetically plastic,", it is still polycarbonate reinforced with a steel structure. When compared to the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5 is thicker and even heavier at 9mm and 132g. It will be available in five color options: White, Blue, Green, Yellow and Pink. Apple will also offer some neat cases/bumpers for the new iPhone 5c that will sell for US $30.

The new iPhone 5c will be available for pre-order on September 13 and cost $99 for the 16GB and $199 for the 32GB, both on a two year contract. It is expected to be available in the US, China, the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Singapore while the rest of the countries (more than 100, according to Apple) that are not on the list should get it by December.

However, unlocked and without any silly carrier subsidies the 16GB version costs $549, which is cheeky to say the least. The 32GB model costs $649. May we remind you, this was supposed to be an iPhone designed for emerging markets. We must admit we had a pretty good feeling about the 5c, we though it would be priced sensibly to compete with Android in the mid-range, but it costs $150 to $200 too much for that.