[Other Tools & General Discussion] hateem:
AppInventor is basically an online resource for making Android apps. However, to make them you don't need to write codes mostly, making this easier for people like me, who dream about actually being a dev.AppInventor, although is a great resource, but got lost in the forums .

The quality of app is really just dependant on the amount of time you are you wiling to spend on it, and how much time you have taken to understand the AppInventor program itself.

There are many apps that can be made from this, ranging to just info apps, to ones that provide links, and others that actually turn out to be mathematical games. Again, it is just up to the amount of time you decide to spend on the app itself, so don't expect your app to be something utterly brilliant the first time.

This can be used as a learning process. The basic logic behind any app development can be found in here.

So here are my first two attempts.

The first one is basically an app that provides me links.

'Indian Restaurants Guide'

This was my first attempt, so please bear my 'noobness'

The app basically provides buttons, which, when pressed lead the person to a website I built. I did not make it a a major thing, trying to draw traffic to the website, rather the website was built for the app. The app, and the website, both are low in content.

https://market.android.com/details?id=appinventor.ai_hateem_ha.glasgowcurrys&feature=search_result

'Neha Sharma Bollywood Actress'

This is my Second attempt

Basically, this app is a bit more complex, and a lot more logic was used.

The app is about an actress, and it gives some more info about her, and also provides links to her facebook and twitter profiles.

Further, it has also links which open up in the youtube application as trailers of her movies.

https://market.android.com/details?id=appinventor.ai_hateem_ha.trial&feature=search_result

The second app, if you notice was a bit more complex, and I had to make use of the Blocks Editor (a tool provided that helps you create the logic) much more. Also, I had to dig deep into the online resources about the app itself, to make sure that nothing in the design and the blocks went wrong. You get better at stuff as you go along, and I think this will be same.

Try Google AppInventor Now

http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/learn/setup/

Tutorials

https://sites.google.com/site/appinventorresources/home/tutorial-topics

'Publish Your App on Android Market'

Taking, it to the next step.

If you want to publish your apps on the Android market, you need to make an Android market publishing account.

The cost is 25$, but if you are even an amateur 'dev', this might be worth it.

With AppInventor, you can not think about generating revenue from the apps you make, unless they are exceptional.

However, once you make an account by going to

www.market.android.com/publish

you can start posting apps on the market.

All apps made on the AppInventor will need to be signed before you can put them on. However, before signing you might want to consider changing your app icon, because the one that comes from AppInventor is just the default one, and I expect you would want to add some personal touch.

Here are the steps on putting your own icon on the app.

[EDIT]

These steps below are not necessary now. In the Appinventor window, when you select Screen1 it will give you the option to set the icon for the app.

The steps below are here, if that does not work out or you are just trying to change the icon of any app.

1)- Get your finished .apk file and rename it from '.apk' to '.zip'

2)- Browse into the now '.zip' file (use any means you like 7zip, windows explorer, etc)

3)- In the first directory of your app you will see a folder called 'res', which will contain the image file.

Now I have tried replacing the file, but somehow it does not work, so select the 'res' folder and delete it.

4)- Make a new folder in the '.zip' folder called 'res'. Then make a subfolder 'drawable'

5)- Find your icon image that you want to put it.

The icon needs to be a 48x48 image in '.png' format.

I used Microsoft Paint on Windows 7 to resize my image to that size and then save as a '.png' file.

You can use that, or if on XP use the default image resizing tool called 'MS PowerToy'

Or you can use this program to resize the images

http://imageresizer.codeplex.com/releases/view/30247

6)- Place the image file in res\drawable\'your image file'.png

7)- Now re-name the image file to 'ya'

8)- Then rename the '.zip' file back to'.apk'

If you can't do it on your computer, send the file to your mobile, and use Astro to rename.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.metago.astro&feature=search_result

9)- This bit's maybe an easier bit, signing your app.

Since there is no easy way to sign an app, I used this program which signs the app with your details.

http://amerkashi.wordpress.com/2011...version-of-app-inventor-apk-to-google-market/

Watch the video about this program, and all will be clear.

10)- After this get the '.apk' created which says 'zipaligned'

Goto your Android market dev account, and upload the '.apk'

Complete the steps, provide Screenshots, and another Icon. This time the icon

has a bigger size. 512x512. Use any way to Resize your image. Then make your '.apk' Active, and Publish your app.

Sounds maybe a bit complicated, but can be done easily if the steps are followed.*

Please leave your feedback concerning your experience with this program, also, please post any links to apps that you make using this.

*I have done all this on Windows 7, so the steps you need to take to complete the procedure might be different on a Mac.