Category Archives: Products

How to Place Your App Inventor Apps in the Google Play Store

An all new tutorial on this subject is available here as of May 2016! There is still some great information below – read both!

Apps you create in App Inventor may be added to the Google Play Store.

The process is not difficult but there are many steps to the process and you will need to create some graphic images to illustrate and promote your app in the store.

Summary of the Steps

  • Set your app’s VersionCode and VersionName.
  • Apply for a Google Developer account (one time fee of US $25 after which you can upload an unlimited number of apps, forever).
  • Create at least two and up to 8 screenshots of your app for display in the store’s app listing.
  • Create a “feature graphic” and a high resolution icon for use in the store listing.
  • Use the App Inventor provided keystore file, or use a keystore file you have created elsewhere or previously.
  • Build and export your app as a .apk file to your computer.
  • Create a title for your app in the store
  • Write a description for your app to appear in the store
  • Decide on free versus paid (paid requires a “merchant account” to be set up).
  • Upload your apk file, keystore file, image files and title and description, and provide some additional information (such as product category, pricing, and target audience).

Continue reading How to Place Your App Inventor Apps in the Google Play Store

Poll: Do you prefer printed books (cost more) or ebooks (cost less)?

Some of my readers have asked about printed copies of my App Inventor e-books.

There are services available that can print high quality, full color (with more detailed images) “on demand” which means a copy of the book is printed and manufactured at the time of purchase.

Printing adds cost. Depending on the size (height and width) and length of the printed book, prices might fall in the range of US$10 to $20.

Are you interested in printed books or are e-books okay with you? Here’s a quick poll on the subject – this poll also appears in the lower right side bar of this web page.

Thank you for your help!

[poll id=”3″]

New Linux OS version designed for Android & App Inventor app development

The Appril release of Quirky Linux includes the Android SDK (Software Development Kit), Android Studio, App Inventor, Oracle JDK (Java Development Kit), and LiveCode tools, as well as all of their dependencies, together with the JWM (Joe’s Window Manager) and ROX, providing one of the lightest environments for Android app developers.

“The intention is to have out-of-the-box, just-click-and-get-going Android app development, catering for total non-programmers with App Inventor, through intermediate with LiveCode, to hard-core coders with Android Studio,” says Barry Kauler, Puppy Linux creator.

Source: Puppy Linux’s Sister Quirky 7.1 Distro Arrives with Tools for Android App Developers

It actually runs the App Inventor system on the computer – does not require access to appinventor.mit.edu.

Download here (its free, of course). I have not tried this yet but would be interested to hear reports from users!

 

Pre-Announcing: App Inventor 2: Databases and Files-new e-book

Available now: App Inventor 2: Databases and Files

I have finished writing App Inventor 2: Databases and Files, a new e-book providing step-by-step guides to using TinyDB, TinyWebDB, Fusion Tables and Data Files in Android App Inventor programs, including sharing data with spreadsheets.

Continue reading Pre-Announcing: App Inventor 2: Databases and Files-new e-book

Off topic: My Photo Guide 2.0 app for Android is available – for free

Version 2.0 of my Photo Guide app for Android is now available – it is free, no ads either.  No special permissions are required to install. Only works on Android 5 or newer.

Works on Android 4.4 and newer.

(Update: An updated version for 4.4 will be available in the store in about 1-2 days – its been uploaded and is awaiting Google processing. In the mean time, the version in the store works on Android 5.x).

 Screen shot:xEJ7UDMI_W9zcV7U_3cY-NK-CrMkJj-E7NgL7cjFfmjp_3AArfP1Ekt6kv6kyDjsNGo=h900 Click on the icon to go direct to the Google Play store and request a download:

wj_p3SzzexZS2tvqhESceRXSrLUAkZwXOV_YC8_QbyJY4l3VPv53ier4fhWSCs3GOK4=w300Alternate link if a browser blocker interferes with that:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pevest.photoguide

This app was originally written using the Eclipse software development system, and the PhoneGap and JQuery Mobile libraries. The new version was converted to use Cordova (similar to PhoneGap) and the project was transferred to the new Android Studio for compilation and testing. This app was NOT written using MIT App Inventor.

App Inventor 2 Tutorial Volume 2 is now available at Amazon

Volume 2 of the App Inventor 2 Tutorial is now available at Amazon as an e-book via this link: App Inventor 2 Tutorial Volume 2: Step-by-step: Advanced features including TinyDB.  The e-book will also be available from Google Play shortly.

Description

MIT App Inventor 2 is a fast and simple way to create custom Android apps for smart phones or tablets. Volume 2 in the series introduces debugging methods, explains additional controls not covered in Volume 1, introduces “agile” methods for developing a real world app, and provides sample code for using the TinyDB database.

The App Inventor 2 Tutorial series is targeted at adult learners (high school and up). App Inventor 2 provides a simplified “drag and drop” interface to layout your app’s screen design. Then implement the app’s behavior with “drag and drop” programming blocks to quickly assemble a program in a graphical interface.

Volume 1 of this series covered the basics of the App Inventor user interface Designer and the Blocks programming editor, plus basic “blocks” programming concepts and tools for arithmetic, text processing, event handling, lists and other features. Volume 2 builds upon Volume 1 to provide tips on debugging programs when the apps work incorrectly, how to use hidden editing features, and how to install your own apps on to your phone or tablet for general use. Code samples are provided for using the Notifier component for general use or for debugging, for user interface control tricks such as buttons that change color continuously or implementing the missing “radio buttons” component, using ListPicker and Spinner for list selections, and using the WebViewer to display web pages in your app. The book includes a large section on designing and building a sample real world application and finishes with a chapter on using the TinyDB database.

For readers of the blog, Chapters 4–8 are based on the tutorial already presented here. Chapter 2 and Chapter 9 on TinyDB are all new material.

Chapters

  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1 – App Inventor Tips
  • Chapter 2 – Debugging App Inventor Programs
  • Chapter 3 – User Interface Control Tricks
  • Chapter 4 – Designing and Building a Real World Application
  • Chapter 5 – Tip Calculator Version 2
  • Chapter 6 – Tip Calculator Version 3
  • Chapter 7 – Tip Calculator Version 4
  • Chapter 8 – Tip Calculator Version 5
  • Chapter 9 – Using the TinyDB database

(Volume 3 is now available – App Inventor 2 Databases and Files adds substantially more information on TinyDB, plus TinyWebDB and Fusion Tables and includes the full introduction to TinyDB).

AppInventor_Volume2Cover