For the past few weeks I’ve been toying around with Google’s recently released Android App Inventor.  For those of you who haven’t heard, it’s a tool that makes it extremely easy for the average person to build custom applications for Android devices.  Granted, it helps if you’re tech savvy or have experience (very basic) with programming, but the learning curve isn’t very steep even if these skills don’t apply to you.

One thing I enjoy about the program is that it allows you to visually ‘snap’ together pre-designed (by Google) building blocks to create the features you desire, both simple and complex.  One downside to this, in comparison to knowing how to flat out write the programming language, is that certain functionality is added at Google’s discretion, which doesn’t quite keep up with the Android development community.  The other major downside is that as of now, the apps build with App Inventor can’t be uploaded to the Market because of technical issues, although Google is presently working on a solution to this.

So far, I’ve personally used this simple tool to build:

• schedule notifiers
• visual timers
• sound boards
• how-to guides
• relaxation apps

Playing around with it really opens your eyes and your mind to the vast possibilities of the mobile marketplace.  If you have a n interest in designing  Android Apps I’d strongly suggest you sign up for a free account and start tinkering today.