Google Releases DIY Android App Inventor (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google has announced a new software development program that lets anyone develop an application for Android devices; it’s called the App Inventor for Android. Google says the software is intended to allow any smartphone user develop Android applications without having any prior knowledge of programming languages.

The official Google Labs web page for App Inventor states: “To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app's behavior.”

Google App Inventor also has blocks for doing ‘programming-like’ things as well as blocks to store information, blocks for repeating actions, and blocks to perform actions under certain conditions.

Since Google App Inventor provides access to GPS-location sensor, you can build location apps to determine where you are. You can build a useful app that will show you where you parked your car; never forget where you’re car is parked anymore.

According to DailyTech, the New York Times states that Harold Abelson is the Google project leader. Harold Abelson is a computer scientist from MIT on sabbatical at Google. Abelson said, "The goal is to enable people to become creators, not just consumers, in this mobile world." Abelson also stated, "We could only have done this because Android’s architecture is so open."

The App Inventor was tested by women, sixth grade students, nursing students and many others, none of them majoring in computer science.

• PhysOrg.com Android apps (new version available)