Android smartphone users now have the power to create their own apps, thanks to a new do-it-yourself software tool from Google. App Inventor was spearheaded by CSAIL's Harold Abelson, who took a sabbatical from MIT to work on the project with Google.
App Inventor is designed for use by non-programmers, using a simple menu and a drag-and-drop interface. “The goal is to enable people to become creators, not just consumers, in this mobile world,” Abelson explains in a New York Times article about the project. Such an initiative is possible thanks to Android's open architecture.
Click here to read the Times piece, and here to check out App Inventor and request access.