An original Apple computer, hand-built by company founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak 45 years ago, sold for $400,000 at auction in the United States on Tuesday. The functioning Apple-1, the great-great-grandfather of today's sleek chrome-and-glass Macbooks, had been expected to fetch up to $600,000 when it went under the hammer in California. The so-called "Chaffey College" Apple-1 is one of only 200 made by Jobs and Wozniak at the very start of the company's odyssey from garage start-up to megalith worth $2 trillion. What makes it even rarer is the fact the computer is encased in koa wood -- a richly patinated wood native to Hawaii. Only a handful of the original 200 were made in this way.

An original Apple computer, hand-built by company founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak 45 years ago, goes under the hammer in the United States on Tuesday. The functioning Apple-1, the great-great-grandfather of today's sleek chrome-and-glass Macbooks, is expected to fetch up to $600,000 at an auction in California. The so-called "Chaffey College" Apple-1 is one of only 200 made by Jobs and Wozniak at the very start of the company's odyssey from garage start-up to megalith worth $2 trillion. What makes it even rarer is the fact the computer is encased in koa wood -- a richly patinated wood native to Hawaii. Only a handful of the original 200 were made in this way.

An original Apple computer with a wooden case is up for sale for £1.1 million ($1.5 million) on eBay -- some 2,250 times more than its original price tag in 1976. The'Apple-1' was the first product to be developed under the Apple name by company co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and launched in 1976. Around 175 of 200 Apple-1 machines were sold in total, each carrying a price tag of $666.66 (equivalent to some $3,126 today.) The fully-functional model is being sold by Krishna Blake of the US, who purchased the machine in 1978, and comes with its manuals and a cassette interface. Also included in the sale is a period Sony TV-115, which was the monitor model originally recommended by Mr Jobs to use to display the computer's output.