Apple I

Apple I

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Apple I

The Apple I, also known as the Apple-1, was an early personal computer. They were designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak.^[1]^[2] Wozniak's friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer. The Apple I was Apple's first product, demonstrated in April 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California. It went on sale in July 1976 at a price of $666.66^[3], because Wozniak liked repeating digits^[4] and because they originally sold it to a local shop for $500 and added a one-third markup. About 200 units were produced. Unlike other hobbyist computers of its day, which were sold as kits, the Apple I was a fully assembled circuit board containing about 30 chips. However, to make a working computer, users still had to add a case, power supply, keyboard, and display. An optional board providing a cassette interface for storage was later released at a cost of $75.

The Apple I is sometimes credited as the first personal computer to be sold in fully assembled form; however, some argue that the honor rightfully belongs to other machines, such as the MOS Technology KIM-1, Datapoint 2200, or more commonly the Altair 8800 (which could be bought in kit or assembled form at extra cost). One major difference sets the Apple I apart ? it was the first personal computer to use a keyboard.

Excerpt from the later Apple II 'Red' manual, including Steve Wozniak's handwritten diagrams for the definition of shape tables

The Apple I's built-in computer terminal circuitry was distinctive. All one needed was a keyboard and an inexpensive video monitor. Competing machines such as the Altair 8800 generally were programmed with front-mounted toggle switches and used indicator lights (red LEDs, most commonly) for output, and had to be extended with separate hardware to allow connection to a computer terminal or a teletype machine. This made the Apple I an innovative machine for its day. In April 1977 the price was dropped to $475.^[5]. It continued to be sold through August 1977, despite the introduction of the Apple II in April 1977, which began shipping in June of that year.^[6] The Apple II was otherwise identical to the Apple I, except it added more RAM, color graphics, sound capabilities, additional expansion slots and was notably contained in a styled plastic case with an integrated keyboard. Apple had dropped the Apple 1 from its price list by October 1977, officially discontinuing it.^[7]

As of 2008, an estimated 30 to 50 Apple Is are still known to exist, making it a very rare collector's item. An Apple I reportedly sold for $50,000 at auction in 1999; however, a more typical price for an Apple I is in the $14,000–$16,000 range. A software-compatible clone of the Apple I (Replica 1) produced using modern components, was released in 2003 at a price of around $200. ^[8]

References

Price, Rob, So Far:the First Ten Years of a Vision, Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA, 1987, ISBN 1-55693-974-4
Owad, Tom (2005). Apple I Replica Creation: Back to the Garage. Rockland, MA: Syngress Publishing. Copyright © 2005. ISBN 1-931836-40-X