Column: Apple is the least worst, and that's why it's the best

The reaction to Apple's iPhone 5S and 5C unveiling this Tuesday was ambivalent at best.

The high-end 5S is predictably beautiful and packed to the brim with smart updates to its functionality, but it doesn't quite have the transcendent appeal of previous models like the 4 or 4S, which used features like Facetime and Siri to get people talking.

But the real talk of the town is the 5C, which has just about everyone scratching their heads, as it was rumored to be a low-price device, possibly targeting emerging markets like China.

On Apple's China website, the iPhone 5C is listed at a starting price of 4,488 RMB, or $733.

Keep in mind that Peking University said that the average annual income for a family in China was just $2,100 last year. In urban areas, that number rises to just $2,600. There are a lot of millionaires in China, but there are a lot of poor people, too.