Well, this is interesting… The blogosphere is all abuzz with the news rumor that Apple may soon be launching a page dedicated to the bevy of web applications that are being developed under Apple’s Web 2.0 “SDK.” According to 9to5 Mac, Apple’s already got a (for now) nonfunctional placeholder page set up at http://www.apple.com/webapps/ just waiting for the launch, which many suggest could come any day now. 9to5 Mac also reports that Apple is working with Electronic Arts and other developers to bring true 3rd-party apps to the iPhone and iPod Touch, which they believe will be distributed through iTunes. And The Register (largely playing off of 9to5’s info), suggests that the first apps available “will include Remote Buddy (for remote controlling your Mac), Solitaire and a Nutrition Database as well as a WebApp launcher called iHome.”

According to Apple Insider, the new directory will work like a number of Apple’s current application download aggregators (like the one for Dashboard widgets, for example) and will operate with similar submission and approval processes.

So what does all of this have to do with the iPhone in higher education? One imagines that an educational “channel” might appear on such a downloads page in the same way that various “channels” appear for dashboard widgets. And given an officially-sanctioned Apple distribution mechanism, one imagines not only that some great apps would have an easier time finding a bigger audience, but also that the attention generated might drive some groovy new development. So even if the “SDK” for iPhone and iPod Touch development remains Web 2.0 only for the time being, as our friends over at Ars Technica suggest, that might not be so bad.

Okay. So who’s gonna design me the first great Web 2.0 course management and gradebook app for iPhone? I’m waiting…

Update: 11 October 2007 Glenn Fleishman over on TidBITS has an interesting take on the possibility of Apple releasing a real SDK (working in conjunction with Apple’s Xcode) and supporting 3rd-party apps. It’s certainly worth a look.