First Generation iPhone sells for KSh7.9 million at auction

A first-generation Apple iPhone has sold for $63,356 (KSh7.9 million) at auction.

The 8 GB phone, owned by tattoo artist Karen Green, was sold at LCG Auctions US, for more than 100 times its launch price. It was in its original box - just as it was introduced by the late Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco. 

The Apple iPhone has since become one of the most prized mobile phone brands. The latest version iPhone 14 retails for about KSh160,000.

Bids for the iPhone 1 started at $2,500 (KSh315,000) and 27 bids later, the auction surpassed all expectations to fetch KSh7.9 million this week. 

The first iPhone came with either 4, 8 or 16 GB of storage, and a 2 megapixel camera.

Karen Green, the happy owner revealed that the phone had been given to her by friends when she started a new job.

Since she had just bought a new phone herself, she never opened the iPhone. "A couple of years later, she was told that it could be valuable to a collector," reports the Daily Mail.