App Inventor for Android
Today Google Labs have started extending invitations to the public for use of their App Inventor for Android software.
App Inventor for Android allows anyone to easily create mobile applications for Android phones and devices. It is a “no code” drag-and-drop style interface which is used to visually design the way an app looks and use building blocks to define behaviours.
Blocks have been created for just about everything that can be done on an Android powered device. App Inventor can be used to perform user interactions, store data, send texts, get GPS data, access Google Maps and communicate with web sites such as Amazon and Twitter.
It looks pretty cool, although as a programmer I have reservations about the whole “no code” business. I’ll give it a go though and report back with my findings. I’d also be interested to know if you have any good or bad experiences with it.
The Android Marketplace is really beginning to gain ground on the Apple App Store, so this looks like it could be a great way to get in on the action for a small effort.
