iPhone Software Development Kit - Great for Users, Trouble for AT&T?

Steve Jobs is expected to unveil a software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone during a press event tomorrow, and I’ve been reading speculation this week on the exact details of the announcement, as well as hints of what’s to be developed. 

Macworld cited a report that MySpace has obtained early access to the SDK and is creating its own iPhone application.  Similarly, Om Malik blogged today that Netherlands-based GyPSii announced it will develop a native version of its geo-location and social networking services for the iPhone.

I can’t help but wonder aloud what effects such applications would have on the already fragile EDGE network, given the popularity of MySpace and other social networking sites. 

Rumor has it Apple will be the “gatekeeper” over which applications are ultimately published to the iTunes Store, and this would certainly prevent a potential flood of new bandwidth-hungry applications that carrier partners’ networks can’t handle, but if the iPhone is already experiencing bandwidth/performance issues out of the box, what will happen when customers have access to new and popular bandwidth-hungry applications?  Which also begs the question — will Apple use its “gatekeeper” role to prevent such applications from being released until the company is sure the networks can support them? 

Only time will tell, but in the meantime I’m eager to hear what Jobs has to say tomorrow.

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