Test unit comes from a time when prototypes were not “lost” in bars or pubs

Jan 3, 2014 09:08 GMT  ·  By

An original iPhone prototype got successfully auctioned and sold on eBay by a person using the handle “applefancollector,” who collected $1,499 / €1,098.01 for the rare Apple piece.

“I am selling a very rare original iPhone engineering prototype. These were used to test the iPhone's various features. To do so, a special test software was installed, which is still running on the device perfectly,” the seller said.

“These come from a time, where prototypes were not ‘lost’ in bars or pubs,” he added.

The guy apparently managed to cash in on $1,499 / €1,098.01 after successfully auctioning this very rare iPhone prototype on eBay for two days, from December 28 to December 30.

Apple didn’t have time to ask eBay to take down the auction – as it usually does with these kinds of things – allowing “applefancollector” to sell the iPhone prototype to one lucky collector.

Some would say the price is exaggerated (for such an outdated phone), but considering how much people are willing to pay for an Apple 1 these days, it shouldn’t take a genius to figure out what this baby is going to be worth ten or twenty years from now.

Even though Apple itself says the iPad ignited the post-PC era, we all know it was the iPhone that started it all. Steve Jobs shelved the tablet project to release the phone first, didn’t he?

“The device itself is in near mint condition, apart from a very tiny mark in the back. This is highlighted in the photos. Technically, the device is also perfect. It passes all tests perfectly,” the seller added.

The phone doesn’t run a full version of iOS (or iPhone OS, as it was called at that time) and the user can’t make any calls with it.

“It is a pure collectors item and I am sure any collector, such as myself, knows what this is and will value it in their collection,” the seller concluded.