5c market is all in Apple's head
I think, in Apple's mind, the 5c *is* a "low cost" phone for "emerging markets." They just are not really in touch with reality, don't know what a low cost phone *really* costs, and for that matter wouldn't price it low enough even if they did know.
"Can't think why Apple wouldn't be able to get it made as cheaply as the Chinese. It is after all the Chinese that make it for them."
1) They do get it made as cheaply as the Chinese, since they are made in Chinese factories. The manufacturing cost for both is estimated at under $200. Apple just puts a colossal markup on these phones. Of course, it is only in Apple's (or dumb analysts) minds that the 5c has any particular market it is competitive in.
2) The actually low cost phones cost less because, besides not having Apple's colossal markup, they use less expensive components. When a company can sell a smartphone -- at a profit -- for $99, obviously they are not spending $173 (estimate for 5c) or $199 (estimate for 5s) just on components and manufacturing. Some of these cut too many corners (like 600mhz CPU and 256MB of RAM or something) but others at almost the same cost (like within $5-10) will at least have 1ghz CPU and 512MB-1GB of RAM, which is really quite fine.