Old technology nostalgia can come at a shocking price, especially when a particular artefact changed the way humans communicate. With its cultural significance demanding value, a factory-sealed, first-generation original Apple iPhone from 2007 has been sold for US$63,356.40 on an.
This is a far reach from the first iPhone鈥檚 original retail cost, which stood between US$400 and $600 when it was released on June 29, 2007, five months after Steve Jobs, wearing his signature , first introduced the product at the MacWorld San Francisco convention.
Kate Green, the seller of this mint-condition iPhone, was gifted the device in 2007, but never unboxed it because she was already using a functional phone.
The online auction, hosted by a site called LCG Auctions, kicked off with a starting bid of US$2,500, which quickly escalated with 27 subsequent bids before it closed on Feb. 19. The offers are part of a larger trend amongst high-end collectors, who see the factory-sealed original iPhone as a blue-chip asset. Last year, the same factory-sealed products were purchased for US$35,414 in August and US$39,339 in October.
Considered a notable leap from previous smartphone installments, the original iPhone included 4/8 gigabytes of storage, a 2-megapixel camera (in stark contrast to the 12-megapixel dual cameras of recent iPhones), and an innovative touch screen.
In 2007, Time Magazine named the first iPhone Invention of the Year.
According to a description under the LCG Auction listing: 鈥淭here鈥檚 little doubt that interest in culturally relevant collectibles is rapidly increasing, and despite the impressive sales numbers, many believe the space is still in its infancy.鈥�
