In some respects I’d expected the bigger news to be about the iPhone. Turns out that Apple’s Q3 2007 was the best quarter for Apple Mac sales ever. Apple shipped 1.7 million Macs, representing a 33% rise on Q3 2006.

Here’s the kicker: 64% of Macs sold were laptops.

Here’s why:

• Just because you use a computer in one place doesn’t mean it must be a desktop;
• If you need to be out of the office for a period of time, having a laptop saves you from all that stupid synching malarkey;
• Laptops are powerful enough to run a business from;
• Laptops enable you to personalise your work aesthetics;
• Laptops enable you to be more flexible about your work / life balance.

With the exception of two Linux servers – one for each office – we run our business from first generation MacBooks. Earlier this year I spent seven hours on a train developing a fairly complex Ajax web architecture. I couldn’t have done that without a laptop. Secure access via a Virtual Private Network keeps us in touch with our servers, and all connected equipment, with just a broadband connection.

When I’m at the office, my MacBook gets plugged into a proper keyboard, mouse etc., is networked via Ethernet, and I use a 23” Apple Cinema Display as a second monitor. No reboots – I just have to move some windows about. It takes seconds to connect up.

Now the iPhone: Apple reported 270,000 sales of the iPhone during the first 30 hours of sales. Just think about that for a moment. That’s 30 hours of sales in the US alone. How much of that 30 hours is the US asleep for? Smart-asses at the back of the class shouldn’t answer this rhetorical question. Fact is this figure is sensational for an unproven first generation mobile device. Apple’s predicting one million sales by end of September 2007 (representing Q4 2007).

They’re coming to a ‘few major countries’ in Europe later this year. And yes, I’m still buying one.

Media Guardian complains today that Channel 4’s new on demand service only works on Windows XP and Internet Explorer. Vista support will be added in the next few weeks. One of the reasons cited for the service not being available on Macs is that Apple’s FairPlay system isn’t available for license to third parties.

Users also need to download special software to view programmes.

Five’s (a.k.a. Channel 5) fee based on demand service requires Windows and Internet Explorer. This too requires you to download special software to view programmes.

Sky Anytime PC is a similar service for Sky customers. This uses the same underlying software as Channel 4’s on demand – Kontiki, but it’s unclear whether users need to download other software in order to use Sky’s service, or if they can re-use Channel 4’s software.

The pattern here is clear. We have a number of companies providing their own solutions to delivering and showing content to viewers. This puts a monumental stall in the usability of the services and potentially hinders the growth of on demand content.

So guess what will happen when movies and TV shows come to iTunes in the UK?

The analysts said it couldn’t happen. It just did: every full time US Apple employee, and those temporary staff who have worked at Apple for more than one year is going to get a free 8GB iPhone by the end of July.

Perhaps I’m being melodramatic, but you not only have an entire enterprise using the product, but a great testing ground for future developments.

The Enterprise likes to say “no” to everything because this maintains the status quo. Saying “no” is easy. “No” requires no thought, no effort, and results in no change. I’ve worked in two companies that followed this path: neither of which exists today.

According to a third installment of David Pogue’s iPhone FAQs, this time for ‘Often-Asked iPhone Questions’, there are two tiny issues that might hinder my adoption of this device:

• To Do items don’t show up on the iPhone – only appointments
• Safari doesn’t store passwords

I can just about cope with the first, but the second one is a bit of a problem. “Ah,” I hear you exclaim, “but surely a web application could store the passwords for you”. To which I would answer, “yes, then you’d only need to know one password.” However, there’s no way of copying, cutting or pasting on the iPhone.

That’s not too much of a problem, because most passwords are short and can be remembered.

But what about those WEP or WPA passwords that you’ll need at hand to get onto your private WiFi network in the first place? That’s okay because the iPhone remembers these.

Update: PassPack looks like a good solution to the password problem. It also has auto-login functionality, which is going to improve in the upcoming release.