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 online bidding website.
This is a far reach from the first iPhone’s 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 black turtleneck, 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: “There’s 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.”
