First computer on sale for 150,000 pounds

LONDON - One of the first computers assembled by Apple in 1976 which was sold by the company’s founder has been put in an auction in Britain with an estimated price of 150,000 pounds.

Apple’s founder Steve Jobs sold the first generation computer Apple-1 from his parents’ garage. The Apple-I, the forerunners of the iPad, iPhone and other latest gadgets, first went on sale in July 1976 at a price of $666.66. The device will be sold at London-based auction house Christie’s Nov 23.

According to the Daily Mail, Apple-1s came with a tiny 8K memory - 524,000 times less than today’s Apple computers’ standard memory. It would not have the capacity to store one song.

The device comes with the original packaging, instruction manuals and a signed letter by Jobs, who is still head of the company.

Julian Wilson, of Christie’s, was quoted as saying: “Before the Apple-1 you would have to put together your own motherboard and would need soldering skills.

“This is the forerunner of the iPod, iPad and iPhone. It worked straight out of the box, which was the original concept.”