Google Labs will be rolling out something called Google App Inventor (for Android). CNet says:
"To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app's behavior," the Google project description states.
I sense a big, big development here. This is big. The Android platform is really gaining ground on a big range of devices: phones/pda's, netbooks, tablet pc's and embedded systems.
The underlying Android SDK is a well-written framework, but only a reasonable java-programmer has the knowledge to use the components to build a proposed piece of software.
I spoke a lot of people about the android platform. A phone with Android is not a phone. It's a device with wireless and 3G internet capabilities, bluetooth capabilities, a camera, a speaker, a microphone, a touchscreen, a motion sensor and a GPS receiver. These components can be combined in endless ways, the sky is the limit.
Until now, you would need to hire a Java programmer to build that 'genius app' for you.
But now, everyone and his sister will be building them, publishing them, and improving them.
Don't you think this is going to be big?
While I think the other answers have got it right that programming is a slowly learned skill that cannot be replaced overnight with a nifty interface, there are a couple of things that may yet make this pretty interesting:
Built-in support for interfacing with popular services like twitter, etc..
The ability for power-users to do crazy and interesting stuff by stringing together some formulas. Sometimes a power-user with a crude tool can be more in tune with solving real problems than a programmer who is trying to brainstorm an app that will sell. I'm thinking primarily of Excel here, where a business user can learn a powerful mini-language to solve their personal problems, often in ways that are either brilliant or horrifying.
Will it result in tons of crappy apps? Probably. But it will also put pressure on Java developers to up their game and produce better stuff - or get buried in the flood.