Is there an app you’ve always wished someone would invent for your mobile phone? Well if so the time has come for a bit of Do-It-Yourself.
Google have released the App Inventor for Android, which means with a bit of software downloaded to your PC and your mobile to hand you can create and design your own custom applications. Whether that be fun games, or more complex apps making use of the phone features such as text messages or GPS you can design and build your own Google Android custom app.
What’s previously been the province of developers has, at least for Google Android users, become pretty much a drag and drop, what you see is what you get process.
If you try this let us know what apps you build or if the software is still too intimidating for you what apps would you like someone else to build for you?
2 Responses
I may get some flak for this but I don’t think these sort of things are good for apps in general. If you want to make a cute app for yourself or your friends that meows when you touch it, go for it. I can also see its value as an educational tool. But my problem is that when you remove all barriers to entry on something like this you basically get every one who thinks they are going to be instant millionaires creating apps that do very little and all look the same. This is especially important to consider because on Android they don’t have a centralized authority that approves or denies what gets put in the app store.
I have the same complaint with all those make your own affiliate, facebook, or eBay type scripts.
@ebuyerfb That’s an interesting perspective, I read the article this morning and thought:
“This would be a superb way for me to get used what can and cannot be done and if I strike a decent I idea, I can get someone to do it properly.”
It does remind me of what Visual Basic did for application programming and what Ruby on Rails & Python did for web programming.
Take a look at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peek-a-boo-baby-rattle/id320877923?mt=8
So simple, but my little ones love it.
Yes you could write this off as ‘doing very little’, but sometimes its the most basic and simplistic of ideas that work, combine this with the minds of millions of people and we are guaranteed to find a winner (all hail the law of averages), although I do suspect you’re right, the vast majority will be utter pants.
Matt