In anticipation of the rapidly approaching iPhone 3G debut, HighEdWebTech has compiled a handy list of likely impacts of the device on higher education technology and web professionals.

HighEdWebTech’s first discussion point is the obvious deluge of devices to be precipitated by the significantly lower, $199 (8G) price tag. The article asserts that the increased number of iPhone-toting students will expect wifi access as well as websites optimized for browsing on iPhone. Authentication issues and other wireless security options will certainly need to be reviewed.

Next, the article treats the automatic geotagging of photos offered by the iPhone 3G. The new iPhone will allow users to automatically, via the internal GPS, record the exact location a photograph was taken. While this is a potentially useful feature, university administrators and IT departments are going to have to be extra-vigilant in keeping an eye on what photos are attributed to their schools or taken on their campuses.

Strain in server resources is another potential impact of the new device. HighEdWebTech suggests that schools that have an email setup using Exchange probably won’t see a huge bump; however if a large number of new iPhone users are checking their email every few minutes, schools may see an increased load on email servers. If you outsource your email to Gmail, for example, you won’t see this.

Finally, the article discusses the possibility of offering additional connection options at stations that offer power and network connections. For example, the iPhone is of course powered through USB port; adding this port to current power stations would allow students to keep their phones powered on and charging while they study, do research, eat, etc.

For more, be sure to check out HighEdWebTech’s complete article.