MuckTech

When I created my first website in the early 90’s, it required learning a new programming language called HTML.  The script was relatively easy and I mastered it in no time.  By the late 90’s, a company named Macromedia published Dreamweaver – a computer program designed to make creating web pages easy.  Suddenly you did not need to be an HTML expert to create a website.

Earlier this week, Google announced their plans to release App Inventor, a simple way to create applications for the Android cell phone platform.  From their site:

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.

Will Google’s announcement spurn a wave of app development?  Will it help it secure Android as the primary smart phone OS of choice?  While that is still in question, this post will help you prepare to start making apps once App Inventor is released.

Sign up for App Inventor

Google requires you to sign up using a Gmail account.  Once App Inventor is released, you will receive an email with details on how to get started.  You can fill out the form here to get started, or check out more info about App Inventor.

Setting up the Android SDK

The Android software development kit (SDK) allows you to see how your app will work on an Android phone without actually owning one.  The SDK can be download from Google now.  Lifehacker has a great post about how to set it up on your computer.

Tutorials

While App Inventor should be simple enough for most users to create applications, Google has created tutorials to teach the basics and more advanced skills.

The big question

So do you plan to try App Inventor when it’s released?  What kind of app would you create?  Once we receive access we plan to build *something* and post it here.  We will also post an article about our hands-on experience with the program.