SCERSIG: Creating Android
Apps with App Inventor
26 October 2011
Ric Paul, Health Services Library, Southampton
Options for Creating Apps

Apple
◦ iOS SDK

Windows
◦ Visual Studio

Android
◦ App Inventor
◦ Developer’s Toolkit
App Inventor: Getting Started
Install software
 Internet connection
 But… don’t need an Android phone

Any other mobile
programming language
Dunechaser
Robban Andersson
App Inventor
www.appinventorbeta.com/about
 Google login + internet required

App Inventor
Simple, low-tech approach to
programming
 Free to use – but software installation
required
 Tutorials available on the site
 Tutorial videos on YouTube

Design your interface on this screen
 Open the Blocks Editor to edit code

Interface Design
Drag and drop components onto the
screen image
 Edit component names and initial status
 Choose from a range of components –
buttons, text objects, social media tools,
etc.


Connect from here to a phone or
emulator to test
Blocks Editor
Drag containers for each component
onto the surface
 Plug actions, events & properties into the
container
 No formal programming is required

Finalising Apps
Finished app can be installed on a phone
directly or via a QR code
 Distribute the app via the QR code – or
upload to Android Market
 A tool like Marketizer can help

◦ www.taiic.com/marketizer

Apps can be updated later – users will be
alerted that an update is available
Downsides
App Inventor apps are large files – there’s
nothing you can do to reduce them
 This is an Android-only product – there’s
no equivalent for iOS or Windows Mobile
 App Inventor is no longer supported
directly by Google
