To be released alongside the iPhone 5S today is Apple’s iPhone 5C, the plastic budget-friendly version of Apple’s flagship smartphone. While expected to be somewhat scaled-back in terms of features and functionality, the iPhone 5C makes Apple technology available to those who haven’t been able to afford it in the past. And, with its selection of colorful plastic shells, Apple is building on its burgeoning color spectrum offering a slew of bold, neon shells to go along with the 5S’s gold and graphite options.

Heading into Apple’s release event today, tech pundits and Apple users are considering the iPhone 5C to be very similar in size and specs to the 5S, just slightly scaled-back to account for its affordability. Keep an eye out for a 4-inch display, upgraded camera, and the possible inclusion of the iPhone 5S’s fingerprint sensor.

As far as software goes, it’s thought to have a diminished iOS 7 to go along with its budgetary label. Techies are calling for the price of the 5C to run in the neighborhood of $99 with a two-year contract subsidy, but per usual Apple’s philosophy is mum’s the word.

If the diminished specs and low price are correct, the iPhone 5C will be Apple’s first foray into the world of mid-range devices with applicable price tags. Under the yolk of Steve Jobs, Apple has only produced one or two, maybe three, versions of its products (for example, multiple iPod versions on the market at once) at once and never anything thataffordable. This maybe give some insight into the company’s direction, one that opens up Apple’s goodies to a much larger market and a far cry from Steve Jobs’s isolationist perspective on products.

Stay tuned to BostInno for the latest Apple and iPhone information. We’ll be live streaming the event from our homepage so be sure to check back at 10am PT/ 1pm ET today for all things Apple.