You may not see a budding app developer for Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android platform when you look in a mirror, but it's now within reach after this week's public launch of App Inventor.
Google hopes that the program -- a visual authoring tool that requires no programming or coding knowledge -- will help get more people tweaking the open-source software.
Providing simple authoring tools reminds me of Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) in the 1980s, when it put out a series of "construction set" titles that let folks create simple pinball, adventure, and racing games. The releases weren't fancy, but at least they were mildly inspirational.
Let's be blunt. It's not necessarily as easy as Google makes it out to be. Diehard coders also won't be losing any sleep that their high-end mobile apps can be easily duplicated by lay users. However, the ability to dumb down the programming building blocks in order to build simple apps is a great way to get folks interested in Google's fast-growing platform.
Android has come out of nowhere to become a legitimate threat to Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) closed iOS that powers iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices. According to market watcher NPD Research, Android smartphones outsold iPhones in this country during this year's first quarter.
The two platforms lagged Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), but growth has slowed at the BlackBerry maker, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Android and iOS as the two market leaders. The odds of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) or Nokia (NYSE: NOK) emerging as iPhone killers with their own smartphone platforms get longer with every passing quarter of irrelevance. Android is the only one with Apple in its crosshairs, even if there's clearly more than enough room for both of them to thrive.
Android's popularity has stemmed largely from its open architecture. In other words, carriers and handset makers can crank out attractively priced devices at fresher speeds than Apple's annual updates.
However, since Apple's App Store is brimming with hundreds of thousands of applications, Google needs to make sure that developers keep the Android pipeline flowing.
Purists will cringe at App Inventor and its rudimentary whack-a-rodent and quiz app tutorials, but there's viral magic at play here. The moment someone begins coding simple, customized solutions for their Android phone, others may trade in their handsets for Android to get in on the tinkering fun. No one has ever donned training wheels in the Tour de France, but folks do have to start somewhere.
What do you think of Android's App Inventor? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
