Rare Apple 1 fails to sell at auction

A RARE ORIGINAL Apple 1 personal computer has failed to sell at Christies auction house for the £80,000 that people thought it might fetch.

The Apple 1 comes from the days when Apple was based in a garage and you had to make your own case for its computers. Now Chinese people do that for you.

According to a report in the Sun newspaper, the 1976 machine got a top bid of £32,000. This is somewhat shy of its reserve price of £50,000 and a lot less than what some people thought it would raise, which was £80,000.

"This is the computer that started Apple, now recognised as the most valuable company in the world; its significance in making computer technology accessible for all cannot be undervalued," said James Hyslop, scientific specialist at Christies when the auction was announced.

That was before the Iphone 5 was released though, and before people started talking about the Ipad Mini. It is possible, though unlikely, that whatever big money people had that might have bought the Apple 1 they could be saving up for the latest Apple phone or little tablet.

We've asked Christies for more information on the fate of the Apple 1. µ