Enlarge / The original iPhone started at $499 for 4GB in 2007. (credit: Getty )

When we reviewed the first iPhone in 2007, one of our top complaints was that the phone was locked to AT&T. At the time, carrier lock-in discouraged Karen Green, a Verizon customer, from opening an iPhone she received as a gift. What was once a limiting inconvenience has led to Green making big bucks, as that unopened iPhone was recently auctioned for $63,356.40—10,477 percent more than the $599 it cost about 16 years ago.

The first iPhone's specs are laughable by today's standards and include 8GB of Samsung flash memory storage, a 2MP camera (decent for a camera phone at the time), and a 3.5-inch LCD screen.

As reported by Business Insider on Monday, Green sold the phone via LCG Auctions to fund her business after seeing how much other unopened first-generation iPhones had sold for recently. In August, one auctioned for $35,414 , and in October, another unopened 2007 iPhone sold for $39,339.60 . The auction for Green's phone, which closed on Sunday, greatly surpassed those sales.

Enlarge / The original iPhone started at $499 for 4GB in 2007. (credit: Getty )

When we reviewed the first iPhone in 2007, one of our top complaints was that the phone was locked to AT&T. At the time, carrier lock-in discouraged Karen Green, a Verizon customer, from opening an iPhone she received as a gift. What was once a limiting inconvenience has led to Green making big bucks, as that unopened iPhone was recently auctioned for $63,356.40—10,477 percent more than the $599 it cost about 16 years ago.

The first iPhone's specs are laughable by today's standards and include 8GB of Samsung flash memory storage, a 2MP camera (decent for a camera phone at the time), and a 3.5-inch LCD screen.

As reported by Business Insider on Monday, Green sold the phone via LCG Auctions to fund her business after seeing how much other unopened first-generation iPhones had sold for recently. In August, one auctioned for $35,414 , and in October, another unopened 2007 iPhone sold for $39,339.60 . The auction for Green's phone, which closed on Sunday, greatly surpassed those sales.

Enlarge / The original iPhone started at $499 for 4GB in 2007. (credit: Getty )

When we reviewed the first iPhone in 2007, one of our top complaints was that the phone was locked to AT&T. At the time, carrier lock-in discouraged Karen Green, a Verizon customer, from opening an iPhone she received as a gift. What was once a limiting inconvenience has led to Green making big bucks, as that unopened iPhone was recently auctioned for $63,356.40—10,477 percent more than the $599 it cost about 16 years ago.

The first iPhone's specs are laughable by today's standards and include 8GB of Samsung flash memory storage, a 2MP camera (decent for a camera phone at the time), and a 3.5-inch LCD screen.

As reported by Business Insider on Monday, Green sold the phone via LCG Auctions to fund her business after seeing how much other unopened first-generation iPhones had sold for recently. In August, one auctioned for $35,414 , and in October, another unopened 2007 iPhone sold for $39,339.60 . The auction for Green's phone, which closed on Sunday, greatly surpassed those sales.