Android App Inventor
Google this week launched an aggressive move to boost the size of its Android application marketplace with the release of the Android App Inventor.
The simple, drag-and-drop application creator turns everyone into a potential Android application developer.
The Inventor is a web-based development kit that includes all the tools needed to create new applications without needing to actually be able to program. Essentially it is a WYSIWYG editor. Applications are built by dragging in items such as buttons, text entry fields and images into the order required.
The Inventor includes draggable blocks for almost anything that an Android can do, from receiving or sent SMSes, to looking up GPS co-ordinates to converting text to speech. The blocks can be arranged in any order to make up any number of applications. There are also blocks for traditional programming tools such as conditional actions, storing information and repeating actions.
Applications developed with the Inventor can be uploaded to an Android phone or even sold on the marketplace.
In one sense the App Inventor is application development made simple. On the other it is simply phone customisation on a grand scale.
The obvious intention behind the release of the App Inventor is to increase the number of applications available in the Android Market. The Android Market has around 60 000 applications listed, while Apple’s iPhone has more the 200 000 applications available.
With the App Inventor the number of Android applications could boom in the coming months, although some commentators argue that the quality of applications could deteriorate. Particularly as Google exercises very little control over the marketplace, allowing anyone to add applications. Apple, on the other hand, controls very tightly what is allowed into its store.
Either way there is likely to be a boom in Android applications over the coming months and ultimately Android will benefit.
Anyone with a GMail account can apply to be part of the beta process.
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