By Larry Dignan | July 12, 2010 | ZDNet.com
Google has launched an effort to make everyone an Android software developer. The search giant is hellbent on growing its app inventory and the Android marketplace and has the momentum and open approach to just give Apple a run.
Now Google is offering a do-it-yourself mobile app tool. The tool, which is available now in Google Labs, is called App Inventor. Google sets the scene:
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.
The discussion around App Inventor early Monday focused on quality of apps. Gasp! Will quality suffer if non-techies use App Inventor? Probably not. Let’s get real here. The mobile app quality isn’t so hot to begin with. Many apps are simply useless on Android and iPhone. However, the beauty here is that useless is in the eye of the beholder. Now I’m never going for the Wonder Bread app, but some sandwich junkie may think it’s the best thing ever. There’s something to be said for allowing anyone to create a quiz app (right). Sure, there will be clunkers, but open up mobile apps and let the marketplace demand decide.