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Google is today launching a new tool called App Inventor that will enable non developers create apps for Android phones.

The App Inventor team has created blocks for just about everything you can do with an Android phone, as well as blocks for doing “programming-like” stuff – blocks to store information, blocks for repeating actions, and blocks to perform actions under certain conditions. There are even blocks to talk to services like Twitter.

App Inventor is simple to use, but also very powerful. Apps you build can even store data created by users in a database, so you can create a make-a-quiz app in which the teachers can save questions in a quiz for their students to answer.

This is a smart move from Google. Not only is the Android Market an open platform for developers with no approval process, but now we’ll likely see a host of specialized apps built by non-coders. This could radically increase the volume of apps in the Market compared to the App Store.

At the moment, App Inventor is only available through registration via this form. Below  are resources that will get you started using the app.

• Set up your computer and phone for App Inventor.
• Run through the tutorials that introduce App Inventor.
• Get help by joining the App Inventor Google Group.