iPhone 5C release date: where can I get it?

After months of guesswork, the iPhone 5C is official and it's basically an iPhone 5 in plastic coating.

But that won't stop you (or perhaps your kids) wanting one when you see the colourful array of finishes the handset comes in - green! yellow! white! pink! etc.

The good news is that there isn't long to wait: the iPhone 5C release date is September 20 while pre-orders open on September 13. We've had a quiet word with all the networks to find out who's stocking what. Let's do this:

• But wait! First decide if the new handset is worth your money with our hands on iPhone 5C review

EE

Yes, EE will be stocking the iPhone 5C and it will be running on its 4G network. No word on contract prices yet.

Vodafone

The big red network will be selling the iPhone 5C on 4G and 3G price plans: what those plans will be is currently anyone's guess.

Three

You can register for more information about the iPhone 5C from Three, and it will be stocking the handset come September 20. No official word yet if the 5C will run on the 4G network when it launches in December.

O2

iPhone 5C is coming to O2 as well, and it'll play nice with the network's 4G set-up despite O2 being absent from Apple's LTE rundown page.

Apple

If you're ready to shell out £469 for the 16GB iPhone 5C or £549 for the 32GB model off-contract, you can buy directly from Apple.

• Find out everything there is to know about the iPhone 5C and check out what the TechRadar team makes of it too