Video Credit: Youtube/Apple

With the much anticipated release of the new iPhones, the Phone 5S and the iPhone 5C, Apple (APPL) Inc has removed their predecessor iPhone 5 from its official website. The reason is not clear, but it could be a bunch of things. Further, this is not the first time Apple has followed this strategy.

The last time Apple took down a model was the iPad 3, when it released the iPad 4 and iPad mini in an October 23 event. While going to the iPhone 5 webpage, "http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone5", Apple fans are directed to the iPhone 5C specs and descriptions.

Analysts say that this could imply that the iPhone 5C may be a replacement for the iPhone 5; a strategy that prevents consumers from buying the iPhone 5 and encourages them to explore the newer versions that compete with mainstream mobile firms like Samsung and its line of smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Some of the marketing strategy behind removing the classic iPhone 5 from view stems from the observation or criticism that the iPhone 5 is similar to the iPhone 5S. So, why are both the products sold at the same time? Keep the iPhone 5 out of production for a while until there is more demand and reinvent it again. Sounds like a good idea.

The converse of that hypothesis would be that Apple and CEO Tim Cook in particular, wants to sell as many iPhone 5S models as possible. With the iPhone 5C destined for low budget markets like China and India, the more sophisticated markets in the U.S. and Europe would still be interested in getting the iPhone 5S for the $199 price tag, provided customers lined to a carrier such as AT&T or T-Mobile.

That sounds like a good strategy to increase revenue and profits at Cupertino, but analysts say we will have to wait and see how the Apple Inc concept plays out in the next few years of sales. The low budget phones are important because the Chinese are experts at making exact replicas or clones of pretty much any smartphone you give them.

This translates to the Chinese doing what Apple is doing at perhaps less than half the cost with cheaper chips, conductors and whatever else is required for mobile computing device manufacturing.

Apple nor Microsoft or any other firm has been successfully tackling property rights or copyright issues in China. It is so widespread that it would be silly to address why people might buy a iPhone 5 clone in India for Rs. 2000, hardly AUS$35. There are no guarantees when you buy a iPhone clone and you should just think of it as a “use and throw” phone, as it is popularly referred to in China and India.

iPhone 5S will be available on Apple Inc’s website and on the Apple Store on September 20.