NEW YORK (AFP) - A 1976 Apple computer sold by Steve Jobs from his parents' garage fetched US$365,000 (S$480,000) at auction in New York on Thursday, falling short of its pre-sale estimate in a competitive computer relic market.
Christie's says the Apple-1 is the only surviving such computer documented to have been sold directly by the late Apple founder to a customer from the garage in Los Altos, California.
A spokeswoman told AFP that it sold for US$365,000 but was unable to give any immediate details about the identity of the buyer.
Christie's had previously valued the computer at US$400,000 to US$600,000, highest pre-sale estimate for an Apple-1 at auction.
The Apple-1, the first pre-assembled personal computer ever sold, is considered a vanguard of the personal computer revolution.
Prices have been on the rise for relics of computing history, which have been snapped up by institutions.
In October, an Apple-1 built by Jobs' business partner Steve Wozniak sold for a staggering US$905,000 at a Bonhams auction in New York, bought by the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
In 2013, Christie's sold another 1976 Apple-1 for US$387,750 and in 2010 another for US$212,267 in London.
