The software features a variety of different design templates, a bank of example questions, and a simple interface that means that quizzes can be edited quickly and easily without requiring any familiarity with PowerPoint. In addition, the quiz will calculate a final score for the user, revealing this at the end of the quiz.

Usability

The software can be downloaded from the website (it costs $99), and there is a trial version available for free. Once installed, a toolbar appears within PowerPoint. From this toolbar, users can create entire quizzes – without doing any editing on the PowerPoint slide itself.

Usability is easy, as all functions are handled within the PowerQuizPoint menu, rather than on the slide itself. However, difficulties did arise when adding and removing questions within the quiz, as the changes interfered with the scoring system. This is particularly evident when different templates are used within one quiz. Users looking to make these changes may wish to edit the presentation as a whole, rather than to do so question by question.

Features

There are a range of pre-designed quiz templates that can be used to create a quiz. Some templates are simply abstract designs, but there are some more creative ones, including one based on a popular television program, and one based on a teacher’s chalkboard (complete with animated writing chalk!). The designs themselves are well executed, and the animations are smooth. Unfortunately, there is no option to personalise these templates, which means that it is impossible to adapt a template for a specific purpose, for example to tailor colours to match a specific brand.

Some modifications can be made on the slides themselves; text and font formats can be changed, whilst the user can insert new shapes, images, sounds and even video and flash to the slide. This could be useful in a learning environment, for example if a teacher wished to explain an answer via the use of video.

Other functionalities from within the quiz are offered. For example, the presenter can enable or disable the option to retry a question if incorrect, or to skip backwards and forwards between questions as wished. The software also comes with a selection of questions in the ‘question bank’, which the user can select from to create a quiz, or add to himself once more questions have been created.

Saving the Quiz

The resulting file can be used within PowerPoint as a slideshow with no difficulties, or it can be saved and run as a Flash file. Converting the file is done via the ‘Publish Quiz’ button on the toolbar within PowerPoint. This process is not without its difficulties. The conversion, as with most PowerPoint to Flash conversions, is slow, but it also froze several times when it was attempted. The website FAQs indicate that this is a common problem, and provide some solutions.

Once a file has been successfully converted, it can be run outside of PowerPoint; sent to other users; or published on a website. This extra feature will prove very useful for those wanting to broadcast a quiz on a blog post, or for teachers and lecturers wishing to share the quiz with students over the internet.

Conclusion

PowerQuizPoint Maker is a useful automated solution for creating quizzes within PowerPoint, particularly with the added functionality of being able to calculate score.

The software is easy to use, and with a few clicks the user can have a fully-functioning quiz. Some improvements could be made, such as fixing the conversion difficulties, or perhaps giving the user the option to remove answer pages from the quiz. It is also worth checking the answers for some of the questions provided in the question bank – an answer about the use of Joules claimed that the term referred to the recording of heat, and not energy!

This software could be particularly useful for teachers and lecturers, or training presentations within a corporate setting. It clearly promotes interaction in an audience, and tests audience knowledge and understanding. Examples of use could be at the start of a presentation to ensure audience members are engaged, or at the end of a presentation to test material learnt. Asking audiences questions will get them involved and paying attention to presentation content, and encouraging them to think about what they are listening to means that they are more likely to absorb it into long-term memory.

Technology is now sufficiently advanced that a presenter doesn’t necessarily need to be in the same room as his audience – or even speaking to them live. Here we have provided examples of the different options you can take, depending on the situation at hand.

1.. Video Conference

The first solution considered by many would be to set up a video conference with the audience. This way presenters can interact live with their audience, and even make use of gestures and facial expressions. Short of physical contact, presenter and audience might as well be face-to-face.

However, video conferences are a lot more complicated than they seem. They are typically very expensive with poor quality visuals, and can only feature a presenter – perhaps with some slides, depending on whether the remote audience can see them clearly. They also prove difficult to organise, as they require equipment and expertise at both ends. On the whole, arranging a video conference is something most businesspeople tend to do just the once.

2.  Virtual Presentation

The next most obvious solution is to conduct a virtual presentation, by which the presenter shares his slides or desktop with the audience and delivers his patter live. Presenting virtually via one of the software choices available proves to be a good solution, as they are cheap to run – until conference call charges are included. The downside is that there can be a lag in the animations, depending on the speed of internet connection. Other negative points include the likelihood of technical issues, and the reliance on good telecommunications and bandwidth.  Some of the packages do not support all animations, and the quality of graphics is often poor.

The most well-known options include WebEx, GoToMeeting, Live Meeting  and Glance. For details on each service, see our Online Meeting Software Review. Based on these results, m62 uses Live Meeting for these situations, as it has proved the most reliable in reproducing slides to their true form.

3.  Send PowerPoint

The next option to consider is sending your audience a file of your PowerPoint. Of course, sending them a normal PowerPoint file would mean that the slides were editable – something that no businessperson wants. The file can be password protected, or sent as a PDF, but the latter option would mean that animations are not enabled, making it much more difficult to engage the audience.

The lack of presenter in this option also means that Visual Cognitive Dissonance cannot be used, as slides have to make sense on their own. This results in a massive reduction in effectiveness. This practice is comparable to sending your audience a document to read: a presentation without narration is not really a presentation.

4. Send Recorded Presentation

The next step is to record the presenter delivering the presentation, and send that to your remote audience. Green screen recording (when the presenter is filmed and then superimposed on top of his slides) is the best solution. However, this option is expensive and really hard to do well. It takes many takes, and lots of time and effort to get it right.

The sister option to the one above is to video the presentation being delivered. However, it is really hard to get the quality right for this, and to show good presenter-slide interaction. The biggest issue is lighting, and an expert camera man or lighting engineer is needed for a passable effort. When done correctly this can work as a reasonable substitute for a green screen, but when done badly it verges on pointless.

5. Send narrated presentation

Sending a narrated PowerPoint is a much cheaper, easier, and quicker option. Here again, there are multiple technical options for the presenter. Narration can be easily recorded within PowerPoint (Slideshow > Record Narration), and then the file can be password-protected.

Alternatively, the file can be converted to video. In the past, this has only been possible via the use of technology such as iSpring – see our PowerPoint to Flash conversion software review. However, one of the new features of PowerPoint 2010 is that conversion to video can be done within PowerPoint itself. Converting a PowerPoint file to video from PowerPoint 2010 is easy, and with a few clicks the user can produce a slide readily playable in Windows media player. Not only that, but because the conversion is done within PowerPoint itself, all animations are shown correctly – something other options have struggled with.

6. Use a slide sharing website

The final option, and the one we would recommend to clients, is for the presenter to use a slide sharing website. These allow the presenter to upload a webcast to the site with recorded audio, for the viewer to watch any time, when it is most convenient for him. This option can prove extremely time and cost effective, as once the presentation is uploaded, it can be watched any number of times by any number of people. Narration can be recorded easily within PowerPoint, or online via a phone or microphone system. Audience members can then be asked to dial in to a conference call for Q&A sessions.

We at m62 use myBrainshark due to its performance and reliability. Most importantly, myBrainshark allows animation, while some of its competitors do not. For more information of the specific capabilities of myBrainshark, see our slide sharing websites review.

Conclusion

Remote solutions don’t have to be just backup plans – they are convenient in everyday situations too. They take away the hassle of preparing for and travelling to a meeting; they save presenter and audience time and money; and they are even good for the environment, as you are reducing your carbon footprint.

Of course, different techniques have to be used when presenting remotely, as there are different challenges when it comes to engaging a remote audience. We’ve produced an article on online presentation skills that provides tips and advice for presenters delivering a presentation over the internet.

So next time you are planning a presentation, consider alternative methods of delivering it. It makes sense to have backup plans for those times when travel and meeting face-to-face are not available – you never know when another volcano might erupt.

RIM has produced the BlackBerry presenter, a pocket-sized device that is beautiful and designed to be portable. Now presenters with a BlackBerry don’t need to carry a laptop everywhere to present, as PowerPoint files can be carried conveniently on a phone. The phone connects to the device via Bluetooth, and from here the presentation can be delivered using a television screen or monitor.

Specifications

The device requires the use of a Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry phone running BlackBerry Device Software 4.6 or later. The device connects to an external display via either a VGA cable or an S-video cable, neither of which are included with the purchase.

The Device

The BlackBerry Presenter device is petite and stylish, easily small enough to fit comfortably in a pocket. It comes with a carry case to protect it from bumps and scratches. The device has only one button – the power key. A VGA port and S-video port are offered to connect to the device to a screen, and for power and updates there is also the micro USB port that BlackBerry now favours for everything. This is useful, as it means that the device is compatible with BlackBerry cables the user may already have.

The Presenter comes handily with different plug attachments, so that the device can be used in various continents abroad without having to purchase an adaptor. Also included is a USB cable to enable the software to be updated regularly via the internet.

Setup

First of all the BlackBerry Presenter software must be downloaded to the phone, which can be done from the BlackBerry website for free. It is then advised that the  Update Manager is downloaded to a computer to check for updates. Once the software is downloaded (which must be done from an Internet Explorer browser – the site, awkwardly, does not support Firefox), simply connecting the Presenter device to the computer via the USB cable provided and clicking ‘Check for updates’ enables the user to perform this function.

For use, the device must be connected to a television or monitor – we used a VGA cable which worked with no problems – and plugged in to the mains.

The instructions state that the PowerPoint file can be opened and presented directly from an email attachment, but this function did not prove available. In fact, the attachment must be downloaded and saved to the phone. This immediately presents a problem if the phone does not have a memory card, as the phone alone is unlikely to hold enough memory to save the file. At this point the user would have to purchase a memory card if he or she didn’t have one already. So this is another added expense – although nowhere near the price of the device itself.

Once the file is downloaded, it can be accessed on the phone via the BlackBerry Presenter application, from where the user can click ‘Present’. At this point the user must enter the 4-key passcode for the device, which is clearly visible on the television screen or monitor.

Features

This is the point at which the difficulties begin. The file is slow to upload to the screen. Smaller files load with a short delay, but larger files – particularly those including images and animation – take much longer. This would require the presenter to set up in advance, or to feel comfortable enough to talk at the audience for a while as they wait for the slides to load.

In the presentations themselves, the actual graphics are represented accurately. Animations are progressed at the swipe of the touchscreen or rollerball, replacing the mouse click easily. BlackBerry states that it supports “24 animations and 55 transitions”, but do not provide a list of these. Not only this, but including a lot of detail in one slide causes significant problems – certain elements of the slide simply will not show. BlackBerry’s advice regarding this is to reduce slide content. This can be detrimental to a well-crafted presentation, as it means that checks would have to be run with each presentation to ensure that each slide is fully compatible with the device. Not only can this mean removing important parts of a presentation, but it is simply not practical.

The user can select slides and even view speaker notes from the phone. However, this practice is clumsy and would involve the presenter looking down at his screen and playing with buttons for a while, as the screen remains frozen in front of the audience. The awkward way the user must scroll through the menu means that the presenter is unlikely to offer a smooth presenting experience. This functionality is a nice touch, but is unlikely to prove useful on a regular basis.

Summary

The device does what it promised to do on a basic level, and once setup has been conducted once, it is quick and easy to do so again. Presenters should just be careful to allow a few minutes before they begin to speak for the PowerPoint file to load.

The fact that the device doesn’t support all animations and images is disappointing, and so is the amount of time it takes to load. One can hope that these will be fixed in the future, and perhaps we will see significant improvements via updates. The error printed in the instructions was misleading and wasted a lot of time in the initial testing phase, and the resulting conclusion that a memory card must be used should have been included in the specifications.

With the hefty price tag (£129.99/$199.99), it can be difficult to see what the true value of this device is. Those who truly resent carrying their laptops around may feel that the BlackBerry Presenter is worth it, but for the majority of presenters, it is hard to see the positives. Significant improvements in reproducing slide elements would yield a better verdict, but for now the BlackBerry Presenter is an added cost with little extra benefit – and several disadvantages.

Peeky – 59p

Peeky is essentially a discreet countdown timer for presenters. Rather than constantly check a watch to ensure that he is presenting according to schedule, the presenter can simply set the timer on his device and leave it in his pocket, or on a table. When a specified number of seconds is remaining, the device will flash and/or vibrate a warning, informing the presenter when he should be moving on to the next slide.

The app draws inspiration from the Pecha Kucha and ignite formats, allowing the user to select those formats as defaults for their presentation. The aim of the app is, essentially, to ensure that you do not spend too long speaking on a single slide.

This can be a great help to those who waffle. However, the fact that the user is not able to set a specific time limit for each slide really lets this app down. Very rarely (perhaps only at the events mentioned above) will it prove useful for a presenter to spend exactly the same amount of time on each slide. The app could be greatly improved with this flexibility.

Should I download it?

In short, the app is simple, and does what it promises to do with no extras. At a low price, it could prove useful to presenters who struggle with timing, but doesn’t have much else to offer.

Presenter Pro – £1.19

Presenter Pro contains a wealth of information. With five instructive sections and one ‘rate me’ section, plus a quiz and randomised ‘tips’ that appear if the device is shaken, a presenter could certainly spend a while working through everything. Not only this, but the information is presented in many different formats – depending on the section, the user can watch a video, listen to an audio recording, or select pictures to view the information behind them. If the user finds any point particularly useful, he can save it to a checklist for quick viewing later.

The menu is split into five sections: Structure, Words, Gestures, Visual Aids, and Voice. The rather haphazard organisation results in several overlaps, and it does feel as though the whole application could have been simplified. Message and objectives are underplayed in this layout too – there are a few points in certain sections on the subject, but without its own section, content is not sufficiently emphasised.

The section on words contains what is probably the most useful advice in the application. Presenter Pro advises presenters to use simple, clear language that won’t confuse the audience, or make things sound more complicated than necessary. Presenters should also use stories to bring a ‘real’ aspect to the presentation – at m62, we encourage presenters to use case studies where possible to outline proof of how the benefits have helped companies in the way they could help the prospect.

The introduction to the ‘Gestures’ section reads: ‘Your gestures provide 55% or more of the impact of your presentation.’ There is no evidence to back this up, and the figure appears to be more than a little exaggerated. Is Presenter Pro really suggesting that an audience will be less influenced by your message and visuals than by the way your hands are clasped?

Gestures are not irrelevant, and using gestures correctly to emphasise your point and react with your slides can prove useful in maximising presentation effectiveness. But presenters should not be focusing all of their attention on their gestures, and certainly should not be spending the majority of preparation time rehearsing them. Spending too much time concentrating on specific gestures can result in the actions looking stilted and fake.

The psychological explanation under ‘Why are visuals more effective?’ (found in Visuals > Facts) is a good explanation, but has not been applied fully. The application of this research that Presenter Pro suggests does not allow for information to be absorbed via the aural and visual channels simultaneously, in the form of animated diagrams and charts. While pictures are better than text on a slide, the psychology can be used further to obtain better results. For more information on this, have a look at our visualisation examples.

In vein of this, the ‘great examples’ found under ‘Think in pictures’ are not the most effective ways of conveying your message to the audience. The visual metaphors used do not emphatically imply the text or message that has been suggested. Forcing your audience to think too much about the way your visual works does not make for an easy assimilation of information. The shot of barbed wire has nothing to do with alienation, and this author instead began thinking about farms and afternoons spent walking the dog in childhood. Visuals can distract as well as aid, and should be clearly relevant to the message – and the message only.

Should I download it?

Essentially, Presenter Pro focuses on what we at m62 refer to as ’soft skills’; body language, tone of voice, and nerve control. While these can be useful to fine-tune your delivery, practising these when delivering a bad presentation will not improve its effectiveness.

This app could be useful if you feel confident that your content and visual aids have been perfected, and you want some specific tips on how to improve your voice or the use of gestures. Perhaps it is not the place for beginners, however: inexperienced speakers may be tempted to focus too much on the finer details, and fail to devote sufficient attention to more integral aspects of presenting, such as messaging and audience engagement.

60 Presentation Tips from Ethos3 – Free

It is immediately clear that this app was made by a design company. The app looks good, and the way you interact with each tip is very neat. The app itself is simply a list of tips, which the user can either read in order, or select from the card-wheel.

The app contains some good tips, such as “make sure you’re using language that everyone in the room will be able to follow” and “pause”, which are great ideas to ensure that your audience remain focused. The advice to “eliminate the weak language from your presentation” is very useful, as is “stand to the left side of the screen”, which many advisors fail to mention. As the Western world reads from left to right, the presenter should stand on the left to ensure no interruption to the audience’s view.

It is odd how little the app focuses on visual aids, considering that it was created by a design agency. Ethos3 quotes that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Pictures may be more effective than text in a presentation, but using them in this way is still not true visualisation (as explained above).

Should I download it?

The application contains some good tips, but a lot of common sense. Ethos3 reminds presenters to “smile” and “visit the restroom before you present” – advice that one would hope the presenter would already be aware of! The app reads like an ad for the company, for which it serves quite well, but otherwise it is just a list of tips that could be found anywhere on the internet.

CueMe – 59p

CueMe is an app for presenters to use when making their own notes. The application allows the user to colour code his notes, as well as changing the font and size. CueMe is designed to be simple and easy to use, with the added benefit of a timer to help the presenter stay on schedule.

The structure of the presentation format is not immediately obvious, but once it becomes clear the app is very simple to use. The functions utilise standard keys that an iPhone or iPod touch user would be familiar with, and one touch buttons make it easy to edit notes to make important points stand out.

The application also allows the user to input text directly from his computer. The process is a little awkward, involving visiting a URL on your computer browser, but is a great added piece of functionality that saves the user a lot of time in the long run.

When in presenter mode, there is a timer in the top left corner that flashes red when there are less than thirty seconds remaining on a section. This can be very useful for those who have timing issues, as it stops the presenter waffling. Different times can be set for each section (or each slide) enabling the presenter to have a very exact control over the schedule of his presentation.

Should I download it?

In all, the application is well designed, and should help presenters a great deal. While there is no substitute for rehearsal, organising speaker notes in such a way will enable the presenter to deliver a much smoother performance.

Prepare Any Presentation in 10 Minutes or Less – Free

This application promotes what it refers to as the ‘3-D Outline’ to presenting, which is essentially a table the presenter users to plan his preparation. The app contains notes detailing this technique and a video explaining it, as a phone-in caller is talked through his presentation live.

The issue with the ‘3-D Outline’ structure is that it is not audience focused. No consideration is taken of audience attention span, or of what they might like to hear. While the presentation is rightly focused on ‘objectives’, there is not enough emphasis on selling benefits in the rest of the presentation. Benefits are useful in all presentations – in every presentation the presenter wants the audience to do something at the end of it, and in order for them to do this, you need to tell them the benefits for them of doing so.

Additionally, the ‘How’ section is not fully explored. The approach sees each type of media separately, and doesn’t consider linking them together. The implication is that slides and presenting are not good for the audience. The app fails to realise that slides do not have to be awful, and that other forms of media can be included in the slides, instead of just text.

The worst piece of advice in the app is that on timing. Tony Jeary says, “Sometimes when you’re going through your presentation you think you need thirty minutes, but then you realise that you really need an hour.” He goes on to suggest that the presenter should ask for a longer time slot. This is poor advice for three reasons:

1. Audience attention spans wane after twenty minutes, so the longer your presentation, the more they will struggle to pay attention
2. Presentations should be all about the audience and what they want. If they’ve given you a certain time slot, you should respect that – people are busy!
3. Simplifying your information is the best way to better it. Anyone can present for an hour on a topic he is enthusiastic about; it is harder, but much more rewarding, to cut this down.

If your audience has given you a certain amount of time – stick to it. Even better: Allow time for Q&A, and finish early.

Should I download it?

The claim in the title is a little misleading. The preparation isn’t prepared in ten minutes – the presenter just plans how you’re going to prepare it. This claim is the presentation equivalent of drawing up a revision timetable for exams, and then expecting that table to get you an A.

The 3-D Outline is a reasonable place for the presenter to start when preparing for a presentation, but the process doesn’t really take the user anywhere. For a free download, the table can be useful – but, ultimately, there is far more to preparing for a presentation than that explained in the 3-D Outline approach.

SlideShare

Animation – SlideShare was the weakest site in terms of enabling animation. In fact – it doesn’t. Each slide is presented as a static image – presumably it is meant to display the final build of each slide, but it couldn’t even host certain graphics on our test presentation.

Audio – PowerPoint has the easy option of recording narration as you present, saving directly as your PowerPoint file. Unfortunately, SlideShare does not enable this, and thus does not recognise narration, or slide timings. To add audio, the user has to record the narration as a separate sound, save it to an mp3 file (which could involve having to convert the original file), upload it to SlideShare, and then go through the whole presentation and adjust the timing for each slide change, so that the narration corresponds to the visual. The whole process is long, slow and tedious. 

Ease of Use – The site is cluttered, with many advertisements dotted around the page. That said, the site is fairly straightforward to use – except for the hassle in uploading audio. For this reason, for ease of use SlideShare scores two stars. 

Control – There are several different privacy settings to choose from: public; private (enabling those the user follows to see); and private (only the user can see). There is also the option to allow viewers to download, or to send the presentation via email to a recipient of the user’s choosing. 

Suitability – There are some random presentations placed next to our animation test, such as ‘PowerPoint Animals’ and ‘Animal Testing’. Mostly, however, the selection is relevant, with PowerPoint tests displayed in the ‘related presentations’ box.

Overall – SlideShare’s strong points are in the control over privacy options. Unfortunately, its lack of technical capabilities let it down when actually viewing slides. Adding audio is difficult and time consuming, and the lack of animation, combined with substandard graphics, give the effect that the viewer is looking at a series of badly-designed posters. 

authorSTREAM

Animation – authorSTREAM supports more animations than SlideShare, but still misses most – and those that it does enable are largely incorrect. For the basic animations it permits, authorSTREAM is awarded two stars.

Audio – Audio is uploaded automatically with the PowerPoint file, saving a lot of time and effort. Lack of control over audio once uploaded, (and no volume control) means that authorSTREAM scores three stars.

Ease of Use – AuthorSTREAM is a little complicated to use, and seems to lack some of the basic functions; I am still unable to find a ‘replay’ button after a presentation has been watched. With the fact that it is not immediately clear how to edit your presentation either, for ease of use authorSTREAM scores one and a half stars.

Control – authorSTREAM had perhaps the best options for privacy control. The user is given the option to keep the presentation private or public, and to enable download if wished. An email can be sent with a link to those you wish to share it with, and the premium version of the site allows the user to create a pass code for access to the slides. The fact that this pass code is not available for free means that authorSTREAM scores four and a half stars.

Suitability – There were a couple of files in ‘Related Presentations’ that were actually related, but most were random.

Overall – authorSTREAM has potential, but it is let down by its lack of simplicity, and the inadequate nature of its animations. 

SlideBoom

Animation – SlideBoom allows more complicated animation than the two sites reviewed above. The site managed to animate everything except the headlines and the live graphs, and graphics were of a good standard. 

Audio – If a narration of the slides has been made in PowerPoint, this is uploaded with the slides in the file, and automatically plays. Once uploaded however, there is nothing that can be done with the audio. Still, the ease of uploading and the fact that SlideBoom allows volume control score SlideBoom four stars.

Ease of use – SlideBoom is straightforward to use, and features a handy toolbar on the viewing screen enabling the remote audience to do things such as view as full screen, or jump to a particular slide. The options are easily accessible and the page layout is clear and uncluttered.

Control – SlideBoom allows the user to control whether everyone can see the presentation, or whether just the user has access. Sharing via email is allowed. Control over embedding in other websites is also given, as is control over downloads. More detailed control over who has access directly on the site (rather than just everyone or no one) would score SlideBoom higher.

Suitability – SlideBoom doesn’t place the presentation next to a completely unrelated one – but it doesn’t give many relevant options. Even with the tags removed, our ‘PowerPoint Animation Test’ only had one set of slides in ‘Related Presentations’. It was definitely related, but lack of choice means that for suitability SlideBoom scores two stars.

Overall – SlideBoom has all the makings of a quality slide sharing site, with good animation and a pleasant, uncluttered screen layout. Having more control over viewing would score higher, as would enabling more options once the presentation is uploaded, such as the ability to add or edit audio. SlideBoom is a good site for most basic needs, for which it scores four stars.

myBrainshark

Animation – myBrainshark has the potential to be very good at animation, and is better than most. It was the only site reviewed that managed to correctly animate the headlines, although it failed to enable the motion path and live graph, and the colour change was there, but not correct. With these adjustments made myBrainshark would score higher, but for the present animation capabilities the site is awarded three and a half stars.

Audio – myBrainshark was the strongest site in the audio category. As with the other sites that score highly in this section, myBrainshark allowed slide narration to be uploaded easily in the PowerPoint file. However, myBrainshark surpassed this in enabling many options in terms of audio once the file was uploaded. A narration can be recorded directly onto the site via a telephone call; a background audio (such as music) can be uploaded from an mp3 file; and audio can be downloaded by viewers as a podcast. If volume control was included in the viewing window, myBrainshark would score five stars; as it is, the site is awarded four and a half stars.

Ease of use – myBrainshark is simple, ad-free, and straightforward to use. Drop down options on the ‘Edit Presentation’ page enable the user to clearly choose from available functions, and ‘helpful hints’ and ‘stages to follow’ throughout cumulate to award myBrainshark five stars.

Control – All slides are publicly available when active. Content can be made inactive, which means that it cannot be found on the site, but users to whom the slides are sent by the user will still be able to view them. More options to users as to who can interact with the file on the website would score myBrainshark higher, but the present control capabilites award the site three stars.

Suitability – The ‘Related Presentations’ box offers the viewer a large number of slides to view, and the majority are directly related. Those that are not directly related are not far off the mark, and there are no random presentations recommended.

Overall – While improvements could be made on myBrainshark’s animation capabilities, the range of functions offered for uploaded content (particularly audio) and its simple interface score the site well. On top of this, myBrainshark hosts a wide range of extra functions, from detailed viewing reports (including location and percentage watched) to the ability to ask viewers questions.

Disclosure: m62 uses Brainshark’s enterprise-level platform, and recommends it to clients. m62 also makes use of iSpring software, which is the PowerPoint to Flash conversion tool used by SlideBoom.

Whilst only using a single pen type on the paper, the PAPERSHOW electronic functionality allows users to create a reasonable variety of appearances for the pen markings on the screen. There are different pen sizes (three different widths) and different colours, (black, yellow, red, blue, green, white). The tool can also be used to create perfectly straight lines or arrows, rather than hand drawn ones along with squares, rectangles, circles or ovals, each either as an outline or as a colour filled shape.

Other functions include an eraser to remove any items previously drawn, completely or in part (this only works for the electronic version though and not the paper) and undo options to remove specific actions.

Accuracy

PAPERSHOW translates the pen strokes to the screen with excellent accuracy. The dot matrix on the paper controls the translation of pen strokes to electronic images and the resolution is high, resulting in almost all the fine detail of the pen stroke being captured electronically. When enlarged onto a projector screen, the overall effect still looks relatively natural, rather than too blocky or pixelated. With PAPERSHOW, users have the added benefit of being able to see what they are drawing either on the screen or, often more usefully, on the drawing pad itself (i.e. the PAPERSHOW paper), which makes it quick and easy to get accurate sketches and annotations on the screen in the correct relative positions to other items that have been drawn.

The pen is easily able to write over existing sketches without interruption to the electronic translation, although the paper needs to be flat at all times as wrinkles or folds in the paper can cause a few minor issues

Whiteboard Function

Possibly the main feature of PAPERSHOW is the whiteboard function, which allows users to write on the paper whilst projecting the PAPERSHOW whiteboard application, creating ‘interactive’ presentations. In reality, the presentation is not much more interactive than the flip chart that PAPERSHOW replaces, however, it is an easy system to use, that can be projected at a far larger size than flip charts and so is accessible to a larger audience. Full screen mode is available to ensure that the audience see only the whiteboard area with no additional buttons, functions or menus.

Multiple electronic whiteboard pages can be created during a presentation, giving the presenter the opportunity to move between each very easily using either the keyboard or action areas built into the PAPERSHOW paper. The same sheet of PAPERSHOW paper can be used for multiple pages, although after three or four whiteboard pages, the paper starts to get very crowded.

Overall the functionality is neat and simple and should facilitate effective whiteboard style presentations.

These images show the actual PAPERSHOW paper used during the PAPERSHOW overview video. There is a close match between the pen markings and electronic transcripts. The images also show PAPERSHOW control tools on each sheet.

PowerPoint Function

Users can also import PowerPoint presentations into PAPERSHOW and directly annotate PowerPoint slides. As with the whiteboard, the PowerPoint slides can be viewed full screen as with any standard presentation.
PowerPoint presentations have to be imported into PAPERSHOW in order to work with the annotation functions and cannot run in parallel with PowerPoint (PowerPoint needs to be closed in order to use PAPERSHOW). This creates a significant problem in that PAPERSHOW does not support animations on slides, so only static slides are shown. For many presentations and presenters, this probably means that PAPERSHOW is a useful tool for summary discussions at best as it does not compliment the presentation that needs to be delivered with animations in PowerPoint.

However, if created as an interactive presentation where key elements of the presentation are removed from the slides, PAPERSHOW does give the presenter an opportunity to engage with an audience in an interactive way and use the PAPERSHOW tool to complete the slide and deliver presentation content specifically for the audience. This type of presentation is not for all situations, but can be effective if delivered correctly and PAPERSHOW is certainly the tool to facilitate it.

Presenters can either use blank PAPERSHOW paper to annotate slides, which, whilst possible, is not easy, or print out their slides on PAPERSHOW paper and so easily and accurately annotate the slides

Saving And Exporting Presentations

All presentations that are created, either through the whiteboard or PowerPoint functions can be saved in the PAPERSHOW format directly to the PAPERSHOW USB drive. The standard USB drive has 250MB of available space to store presentations, with each whiteboard presentation taking up no more than a few KB of space. The PowerPoint presentations uploaded into PAPERSHOW are also saved on the USB drive, but with images, these can fill up the drive rather more quickly. Any files can be easily deleted or stored elsewhere if space becomes an issue.

Once the presentation is over, PAPERSHOW provides users with a number of other options to keep the copies of their presentations.

The contents of the whiteboard or annotated PowerPoint slide can be printed out to any printer and kept as a hard copy as required.

Each whiteboard or slide can be exported to PowerPoint with each page or slide saved as a new slide in PowerPoint. This function only exports a single image for all annotations on the whiteboard or slide and so once exported, users can’t edit any of the elements within the sketch, unless it is exported further to a graphics package for further manipulation. The exported image also includes the background of the sketch, which is either the whiteboard background, in which the default background includes PAPERSHOW logo, but this can be removed, or the content of the original PowerPoint slide that was annotated.

In the same way as exporting to PowerPoint, the contents of PAPERSHOW can be exported into a pdf file.

Installation

Installation of PAPERSHOW is relatively easy as everything runs straight from the PaperShow USB key. This means that PAPERSHOW can be transferred between multiple computers and with the presentations stored on the same USB key, there is no need to rely on other devices, although a back up is always recommended.

First time users have to connect to the internet to activate the system and also pair the PAPERSHOW pen with the USB counterpart. These tasks are very quick and within a few minutes, everything is running OK, with minimal input from the user.

Compatibility

Currently, PAPERSHOW is only compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista, meaning that Windows 7 or Mac users have to miss out for now. There are notes on the PAPERSHOW website about support for Mac coming soon, but this has been the case for a while, meaning either Mac support is imminent or still a long way off.

PAPERSHOW is also not fully compatible with PowerPoint 2007 or 2010. Any .pptx presentation files will need to be converted into .ppt (PowerPoint 2003) files in order to work correctly. Although this is easily achieved in the newer versions of PowerPoint it can limit some of the graphics and functionality of the presentation, so ensure that a copy of the original presentation is kept in .pptx format.

Summary

PAPERSHOW is a great tool for getting hand drawn sketches into an electronic format that can be used during presentations. The accuracy is good with the resulting images easy to see with excellent clarity (dependent upon the presenter’s own abilities!). As a replacement for a flip chart or whiteboard or for use with static PowerPoint slides, the tool is excellent. However, the lack of support for annotating animated slides means that PAPERSHOW has very limited use as a tool to support engaging and effective presentations and users should consider very carefully before using PaperShow whether it is the right tool for the job.

Rating

3/5 stars

Details

Web: www.papershow.com
Price: From about £110

Now, instead, imagine taking a rather more expensive and fully-featured piece of hardware – the iPhone 3G (or iPhone 3GS for this review), and creating an application that turns the entire thing into a high-end presentation clicker. That’s what one company, Senstic, has done. What difference does having a mini-computer and touch-sensitive screen make? Here, we review i-Clickr when used with a PC.

i-Clickr is available from Apple’s App Store for £5.99. (If you know what it costs in US dollars, please leave a comment below.) Download and installation of the actual iPhone application is simple, but there is also an additional bit of software from Senstic that needs to be installed on any PC one intends to use i-Clickr with. Apple’s Bonjour software, which discovers devices on a local network, is also required. Not entirely surprisingly, there’s a tiny bit of work to do in allowing this PC software to get through one’s PC firewall.

Once everything is installed and the correct permissions are granted, the easiest way to get i-Clickr working is to connect PC and iPhone to the same network. (Documentation suggests that this must be a wireless network, but the PC can be connected using wires.) Then, start i-Clickr on the PC, and then on the iPhone. Select the computer to control with the iPhone (assuming everything is working), and then on that PC select a PowerPoint file to open. (Yes, this does involve going from PC to iPhone to PC and then finally to iPhone once the presentation is running, and yes, it is mildly annoying.) After a short pause, the presentation opens in showmode on the PC, and the iPhone turns into a fully-featured presentation remote.

Once the presentation is opened in showmode, it can’t be used in any other way. Closing either the presentation or iClickr will crash or close the other parts of this software ‘jigsaw’ – although as this is predictable and entirely avoidable, it wasn’t a deal-breaker for me.

i-Clickr allows slides to be advanced or reversed using either buttons or a simple finger-swipe across the screen. There are four simple screen views for use when presenting – view the final build of the current slide, view the final build of the next slide, view the speaker notes of the current slide, or view the speaker notes of the next slide. Each of these views has different uses; I particularly like the ability to see the next slide, and to be able to glance at speaker notes. Toggling between slide and note view is achieved with one click. Changing settings between viewing the current slide and the next slide is a couple of clicks away. Clearly, a typical presentation clicker can’t match this functionality.

A number of features are available from the menu screen. A single click from the menu will blank the presentation – whether this is done in black or in white (think “B” or “W” on a keyboard) can be selected in advance from options. Another option brings up a list of slides, and a single click will jump directly to a chosen slide. A trick that we feel is important for making PowerPoint presentations interactive, and one that can’t be obtained with many clickers.

Perhaps making even greater use of the iPhone’s capabilities is the ability to annotate slides directly from the iPhone. Annotation mode is available by holding the iPhone horizontally, at which point four symbols (a tick, arrow, question mark, and star) appear at the right of the screen, as does a text icon. Touching a symbol sets the drawing mode, and then touching the image of the slide annotates the slide show. (So, for example, touch the question mark and then the slide on your iPhone to draw a question mark onto the slide show on your PC.) Annotations are not saved. Clicking the text icon and then the screen brings up the iPhone’s keyboard. A few minutes later and it’s possible to write a word, although probably not the one you intended (your mileage may vary). An ‘X’ icon selects delete, and annotations can be erased. For some reason, this icon appeared slightly off the bottom of the screen on my phone. Still accessible, but a minor bug.

Because rotating the iPhone launches annotation mode, it isn’t possible to read speaker notes in landscape view. It is possible to disable annotation mode, but with this selected, rotating the phone simply shows speaker notes at an angle. It would have been nice to be able to use the iPhone almost as a continually-updating index card, held subtly in the palm. In reality, holding the phone vertically and continually glancing down at the screen risks encouraging a presenter to avoid proper eye contact. Font size can be altered though, and if the iPhone is used as occasional reminder and not as script, the functionality can be truly helpful.

Some reviews on the App Store claimed that lag between iPhone and PC made iClickr unusable. I didn’t experience any lag at all – responsiveness was almost perfect. That doesn’t mean I would encourage presenters to throw away their clickers and attempt to buy iPhones on expenses just yet, though.

With practice, iClickr makes a great clicker. But connection between iPhone and PC isn’t entirely reliable. At home or in the office, getting iPhone and PC onto the same network isn’t that hard. But go to a client’s office where a shared Wi-Fi network isn’t available and things become harder.

In theory, it’s possible to set an ad-hoc wireless connection between laptop and iPhone. Senstic provide step-by-step instructions. After following the instructions, and a minute or so waiting for the connection to be established, I had everything set up the right way. But then, after launching i-Clickr on my iPhone, I wasn’t prompted to open a presentation on my PC. The infrastructure seemed to work, but I couldn’t launch a presentation. I also tried to connect using my PC’s built-in Bluetooth, and perhaps not surprisingly, I couldn’t get things working.

I’m sure that ad-hoc connections with i-Clickr can work. But I wouldn’t want to be following a six-part set of instructions, with some long pauses in the middle, once I was with prospects at their offices. i-Clickr is a great App, but it’s probably not time to retire the Kensington just yet.

A great tool for presenters with iPhones who often present from their own office. But keep a back-up, in case set-up doesn’t go smoothly.

WebEx

URL: http://www.webex.com

Functions

• Presentation upload
• Screen sharing
• Application sharing
• Remote control
• Annotations
• Teleconferencing
• Web chat
• Recording

Overview

WebEx has almost become a commoditised term, like Google and Kleenex, for online meetings. It is one of the most widely used online meeting software applications and boasts all of the features that online presenters could want. WebEx requires a small download and install of the meeting application, but this is often relatively easy to complete except for those behind the toughest firewalls.

The meeting environment has a large window for content, but a significant chunk of the screen is consumed with a variety of tabs down the right hand side of the screen. These tabs contain information such as attendee lists, web chat, web cam videos and, rather neatly, the speaker notes from your presentation (but remember, your audience can see these as well). On large monitors, this is fine, but users with smaller screen sizes may suffer a loss of detail on content, so be wary not to use text that is too small or graphics that are too fine.

Content can be uploaded to the meeting room by the presenter, although upload speeds are often slower than one might expect, so large presentations will need to be uploaded to the meeting room in advance.

Uploaded content does not display well when the content contains many graphics, including transparencies and colour gradients. Charts, particularly pie charts rarely display well and in some cases are completely obliterated, represented as just single blocks of colour. In some cases, small graphical objects can also become distorted and so overall, WebEx doesn’t do justice to more graphical presentations that have been uploaded into the system. Animations do not fare much better, with more complex animations failing to work properly, resulting in some fairly ‘funky’ slides.

The screen sharing or application sharing option is probably best for those with more graphical presentations. This allows presenters to essentially project their screen, or a specific application, onto the screens of their audience, without the need to upload content through the WebEx system. Whilst the graphics still aren’t perfect, they are more reasonable and within the expectations of a decent online meeting application. Animations are much smoother with more predictable results, rather than some of the effects generated by the uploaded content

Verdict

WebEx meetings are really let down by their lack of support for high end graphical presentations and a range of animations that many presentations today feature. If you present bullet points, then WebEx is fine, but it really doesn’t do justice to well-designed visual presentations. Screen sharing saves WebEx from being a total disappointment and is really the only option for those wanting to impress with their presentations.

Score: 3/5

GoToMeeting

URL: http://www.gotomeeting.com

Functions

• Screen sharing
• Application sharing
• Remote control
• Annotations
• Teleconferencing
• Web chat
• Recording

Overview

GoToMeeting is based on screen sharing or application sharing, giving meeting attendees the opportunity to see your screen as you see it or a specific application, such as PowerPoint. GoToMeeting requires a very small and quick set up process that is very simple for all attendees to follow.

The meeting environment is split into a viewing window, that can be re-sized by each individual attendee and a functions panel that offers various functions such as attendee lists, web chat and teleconferencing details. For presenters, this panel also provides options for screen sharing and attendee participation.

GoToMeeting gives presenters a greater level of control over what meeting attendees see during the meeting. Attendees can be given full view of the desktop environment of a PC, including any applications that are running, or a more basic version that strips out background graphics and icons, giving a much simpler, more focused view of content. Unlike all the other online meeting software reviewed here, GoToMeeting also supports multiple monitors, with choice available for share a primary monitor, secondary monitor or both together (although this option results in fairly small reproductions of both screens within the attendee viewing window).

The quality of the screen sharing is good. Graphics are reproduced well enough to provide reasonable viewing of content and for animations, refresh rates are sufficient to allow all but the most complex transitions and animations to be seen clearly. There is a latency of a second or so (this can be higher with slower connections), but unless the timing of narrative and animation is critical, this won’t really cause a problem for presenter or audience.

Verdict

GoToMeeting offers an excellent tool for quick online meetings, with excellent screen sharing capabilities. Let down slightly by not having upload capabilities which eliminate problems of latency and refresh rates, GoToMeeting is a tool that any presenter should be happy to use.

Score: 4/5

Microsoft Live Meeting

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com

Functions

• Presentation upload
• Screen sharing
• Application sharing
• Remote control
• Annotations
• Teleconferencing
• Web chat
• Recording

Overview

Microsoft Live Meeting provides users with every function normally required by presenters. Live Meeting requires a download and install of the Live Meeting application for both hosts and participants to meetings, which can take several minutes. As a result, initiating meetings often isn’t the quickest of processes, but once you have the application installed, further meetings are quick to set up. There is an alternative web-based version which is quicker to initiate, but this sacrifices presentation performance.

Once in the meeting, the environment is neat with very little in the way of the main content screen. Drop down menus give access to a range of useful functions including content, attendee lists, web chat and meeting invitation details.

Hosts and presenters can upload content to the meeting room at any time (as well as before the meeting starts). Upload times always appear reasonable, but clearly depend upon the speed of your web connection.

The quality of uploaded content is excellent. Live Meeting works well with PowerPoint and is probably the best online meeting software application available to faithfully replicate your PowerPoint slides and all their animations. It falls down slightly with some of the emphasis animations such as colour changes, but overall delivers a very credible performance. Graphics are of good quality and animations are smooth on all but the very slowest web connection speeds.

Curiously, uploaded content from PowerPoint 2007 can sometimes experience issues, with graphics sometimes failing to appear and some animations not working correctly.

Live Meeting also offers screen sharing and application sharing functionality, which eliminates upload times, but results in a presentation of lower graphical quality with more interruptions to animations, but neither is noticeably off-putting, unless you have particularly detailed slides with fine levels of animation (although arguably such subtle animation would be inappropriate in an online presentation as it can be lost on audiences without a presenter to physically point it out).

Verdict

Overall Microsoft Live Meeting is an excellent online meeting tool for delivering every type of online presentation. It provides the best graphical output and works well with animated PowerPoint slides, unlike many of its rivals. The main negative is the required download and install of the application before joining a meeting as this can be both confusing and time consuming. The work around to this, in the form of a web-based version does not display animations in uploaded content and so audiences are forced to view a static version of the content, or cope with lower quality graphics through screen sharing. Screen sharing is viable alternative with Live Meeting, albeit with a small sacrifice in graphics and animation. Mac users may also want to be wary of a Microsoft product that still doesn’t quite work as smoothly as it does on Windows machines

Score: 4.5/5

Glance

URL: http://www.glance.net

Functions

• Screen sharing
• Remote control
• Teleconferencing
• Web chat
• Recording

Overview

Glance, like GoToMeeting, is a screen-sharing-only online meeting tool. As a result, the software is much more basic and so correspondingly, accessing the meeting is much simpler. Whilst a download is required, it is very quick. Accessing the meeting is also very simple, with only a simple URL and four digit code to input, rather than the sometimes confusing URLs, usernames and password requirements of other systems.

The meeting environment is a full screen representation of the host’s desktop, which makes viewing easy, even for those with smaller screen sizes.

Graphical quality of shared content is good and being a sharing option, animations are always reproduced faithfully. However, Glance appears to use a scanning refresh format, much like TVs, which refreshes the screen line by line and can result in some animations looking rough and shuddering. More complex animations such as motion paths can suffer as a result, as can animations that have a specific purpose (such as arrows wiping in a certain direction to add emphasis).

Remember that this is a screen sharing tool, rather than an application sharing tool and so presenters need to be careful that sensitive information is not displayed and for a more professional appearance, email reminders that appear over presentations are turned off.

Verdict

The simplicity of accessing Glance meetings is a balance with a poorer quality delivery of animation heavy presentations. Graphics are displayed well and for presentations with low levels of animation the system works remarkably well. For a simple, no frills, yet easy to use application it provides very good results.

Score: 3/5

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Tried and Tested: Optoma PK101 Pico Projector

From the age of 10 my career ambition had always been to join the Police force, but like so many graduates I left university with significant debt, and I very quickly discovered that a career in the Police force wouldn’t help me pay this off quickly enough.

So for the quick financial rewards I embarked on a career in sales and I took a graduate job for a small IT company where I started out selling projectors and plasma screens. Back then the smallest projectors weighed in at just over 15kgs and cost upwards of £10,000, so when I was asked to review the Optoma PK101 Pico Projector which weighs in at an amazing 115g (yes that’s only 4oz) and with a footprint smaller than an iPhone I simply couldn’t resist.

Power

This projector can literally fit in your pocket. It is powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts around 90 minutes, so there is no need for a power cable and plug that would probably weigh more than the projector itself. My unit came with a spare battery, so in theory you have around three hours of power for when you’re on the move. It’s also possible to power the unit via the USB power input.

Connectivity

The sole connectivity is through a composite video connection perfect for DVD players, camcorders and more importantly linking with some of the most popular devices on the market today, in particular the iPod and iPhone. The challenge comes when trying to connect the device to a laptop as the Pico Projector doesn’t have a VGA input,  unlike just about every other projector on the market. To connect to my laptop took lots of Google searches to find the right cable combination.

Image & Performance

With a device of this size it’s not at all surprising that you need to ‘adapt’ your environment to accommodate for the lack of brightness.  The simple rule-of-thumb is the darker the room the better the Pico. This unit is not designed for environments where you cannot control the light conditions. In a board room you’ll need to close the blinds and turn out the lights for the Pico Projector to be of any real value.

As with any projector, the further you take the Pico away from the screen the larger the image. In an almost pitch black room the largest image it could accommodate was around 7-8 feet, any more than this and the unit really struggled. The Pico performed best displaying a diagonal image of around 2 feet, but the lighter the room the smaller the image needed to be.

Specification

In a controlled environment the published results for the projector are very poor; the brightness (in the projector world measured in ANSI lumens) came in at 10 ANSI lumens. Most portable projectors today (at around half the footprint of a laptop and 4kgs) have a brightness of around 2000 ANSI lumens, so in comparison the Pico isn’t on the same playing field, but let’s not forget the footprint and weight of this unit.

The Pico Projector has a claimed contrast ratio of 1000:1 (contrast ratio is they way manufactures measure the difference between black and white, the greater the ratio the better the colour definition). In reality I’d be very surprised if this was the case, I’ve read other tests that show the contrast at 250:1. This however is not a bad performance, and the image quality for high quality video-casts downloaded from the likes of iTunes is surprisingly good and watchable. On the other hand the Pico really struggled with images from my laptop; they were grainy and often flickered.

The Pico Projector uses a technology called DLP (Digital Light Processing) which is how Optoma can develop such a small unit. DLP usually struggles with certain colours but this unit performed surprisingly well.

Sound

Believe it or not the Pico Projector even has a small built-in speaker. At 0.5w sound is not great quality, or particularly loud, but what can one expect from a unit of this size? Unlike most projectors there is no fan noise to fight with, so at least the small speaker has a chance. Personally, I prefer to use the sound from my laptop or iPhone as the quality is sharper and louder, but as least you know the Pico has a loudspeaker if “needs must”.

Selling with the Pico Projector

The Pico Projector isn’t about to change the technology I use to deliver a sales presentation. I’m afraid to say that right now I’d have to continue using either my laptop or my current portable Sony projector in preference to this first version of the Pico Projector. Although my Sony projector is significantly heavier (around 4kgs instead of the Pico’s 115g) and bigger (the footprint is about half the size of my laptop, whereas the Pico’s footprint is smaller than an iPhone) I couldn’t run the risk of not being able to block out the natural light to allow my audience to see the screen clearly. Even if I could, there is still the issue of the image quality, and this isn’t up to standard, yet!

Conclusion

If you’d have asked me 11 years ago when I was first selling projectors if anyone would ever produce a unit of this size, at this specification, and at this price, I’d have laughed at you. There is no doubt that this is amazing piece of engineering. But for business presentations right now I’d pay a fraction more for a larger, more powerful, unit.

For watching videos from my iPhone in an environment where I can control the light the Pico Projector is a “nice to have” but I’m not sure I’d spend £225 of my own money! [Editor's note - Richard has actually offered to return this unit.] I’m sure future models will be more powerful, with higher specs. Then, this size of device will be used daily without a second thought from any of its users. Unless they happened to have had a previous career selling projectors, when they might remember trying to carry two or three of the original 20kg projectors into an office for a client demo.

Where to buy

Amazon.co.uk – £224 including free delivery; Amazon.com – $299 including free delivery (which is approximately £180. So it might be worth our UK readers buying this from the USA).

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As an iPhone user and someone who carries a sales target there are often times when, sat on a train or on a flight, a person near me would ask “so what do you do?” Working for a presentation company, the easiest way to answer that is by showing that person a handful of PowerPoint slides. As it’s not always possible or appropriate to pull out the laptop and launch into a sales presentation, the iPhone has provided me with a neat and quick way to help me demonstrate what m62 does and why people want to engage with us.

If you have seen any of the more recent iPhone advertisements or taken a look at the Mac website you may have seen or heard the phrase ‘there’s an app for just about anything’. There are an estimated 35,000 applications available for the iPhone today, but is there an app to help deliver Killer (PowerPoint) Presentations on your iPhone? What’s the best way to use an iPhone to present while on-the-move?

Fact: You cannot run native PowerPoint Presentations on the iPhone; this is after all a Mac based technology. So what are your options? In my opinion there are four main ways of getting your presentation onto the iPhone:

Option 1

The easiest way to get a presentation on to your iPhone is to send yourself a copy of the presentation by email. When you click on the attachment the iPhone will let you view a static shot of the PowerPoint slide without the need for any additional software.

The problem with this approach is that you can’t get a full screen view of the slide, you can’t see any of the builds (as the image is static), and you have to scroll down through the document as if it were a Word file. It’s therefore not really a presentation, and not how I’d ever want to deliver a presentation. This would be a last resort and only of any real value if you just want to review the content of the presentation.

Option 2

PowerPoint will allow you to export your presentation as a series of pictures; once you’ve done this you can then synchronise these pictures to your iPhone through iTunes in the usual way. Then you can use the slide show program on your iPhone to show your presentation.

Although this can be a slow process it’s relatively easy to do and (assuming you are happy to remove all the animation and builds in your presentation) will work well for most users.

Option 3

The third option is to convert the native .ppt file to a .pdf file. There are many tools to do this both specifically for the iPhone, and you can do this on your PC or Mac then transfer the file to your iPhone. The problem with the PDF format is that you remove all the builds and animations on your slides. This makes delivering an effective presentation very difficult! It’s better than Option 1 but far from perfect.

Option 4

Probably the most common and effective way to show PowerPoint Presentations with builds and animations is to convert the native .ppt file into a video file. On the iPhone the correct video format is MP4. Again, there are many different conversion tools available to download that do this very well. I think that Wondershare PPT to iPhone works well, although others may be as good.

Remember when you do the conversion the best screen size is 480×320px and that you’ll need to find the right balance between the file size and the quality of the image. The file conversion software can create large MP4 files, so you’ll need to work around how much storage space you have on your iPhone and how high-quality you want the video to be.

The single biggest problem with this solution is controlling the flow of the presentation. To deliver the presentation effectively you have to keep pausing the video, unless of course you take no questions, practise and rehearse all the timings, and can deliver the presentation exactly to the timing you set up when you do the conversion from .ppt to .MP4. I suspect for most of us that’s not a feasible option!

Conclusion

To date I’ve not found a better solution than Option 4. This works OK for me right now, but it’s far from perfect. I suspect (and can only hope) that someone somewhere will come up with a better solution and make the whole process of delivering effective PowerPoint presentations on your iPhone easier.

Next Month

We review the Pico pocket projector, which believe-it-or-not weighs 4oz and is an amazing 50 x 103 x 15mm, that’s a footprint SMALLER than the iPhone that can project an image up to 60 inches across the diagonal.

To deliver a truly engaging, memorable and effective presentation, not only do you need the right presentation but you also need the right tools of the trade. One of these tools is a wireless presentation remote clicker. We have tried and tested three of those currently on the market. See how our expert rates them. This month’s m62 expert: Richard Newman

Kensington 33062 Wireless Presentation Remote Control

Simple yet very effective, this Kensington remote conveniently has a built-in wireless USB receiver, perfect for giving you control of your presentations, and has a usability range of around 50 feet (15m).

Lightweight, and with only four buttons to choose from, it’s incredibly simple to use. At times when your arms aren’t long enough to reach the screen, it also has a built-in laser pointer to highlight key presentation points, and with over 65,000 separate IDs, the chances of crosstalk – where someone else remote controls your presentation because they have the same remote – are very slim!

Best of all, this is truly ‘plug and play’ – as no drivers / software installation are required. The remote also has a blank screen function to allow you to turn off the screen and enable your audience to focus 100% on you, the presenter.

Weaknesses: Unfortunately you have no idea when the battery might die and changing the battery is a delicate operation, which requires a jeweller’s screwdriver. It doesn’t take standard batteries (AA / AAA) and you can’t turn the remote off to prevent running down the battery’s charge accidentally, when carrying it in your bag.

Overall rating: I have to admit that this is a personal favourite of mine. I’ve been using this remote for over five years and I still love it, despite its minor weaknesses.

Star Rating 4.5 out of 5.

Price Guide £20 / $45

Logitech 2.4 GHz Cordless Presenter

Finishing your presentation on time is critical, especially when you take into account m62’s research on how long your audience will pay attention for. This remote gives you an easy to set LCD timer that gives automatic vibrating warnings when you have five and two minutes remaining.

Again, it has a range of around 50 feet (15m), which is more than sufficient for just about any environment. It includes a storable receiver and carrying case, has a laser pointer and is ‘plug & play’ – connecting to your laptop via USB.

Unlike the Kensington, the Logitech remote allows the user to launch and escape from the slide show (although I’m not quite sure why you would need this!) and has a volume control function. It also benefits from a very useful battery indicator, which will help ensure you don’t run out of power half way through your presentation.

Weakness: The USB receiver can easily be put into the remote the wrong way, which then makes it somewhat difficult to take out again!

Star Rating 4 out of 5.

Price Guide £38 / $50

Keyspan Presentation Remote Pro

The Pro Presenter has a laser, audio controls AND a mouse control that provides cursor control, scrolling and two-button mouse capabilities in one remote. With a claimed range of over 100 feet, it’s perfect for large meeting rooms and lecture halls.

Like the other two, this remote doesn’t require software, just plug the receiver into the USB port on your PC or Mac and it works within seconds. With a ‘hide slide’ feature you can also blank the screen anytime that you want to have the audience focus on you. The receiver is stored inside the remote when not in use and has an on/off switch to ensure that the batteries are not accidentally run down when in your bag. Its AAA batteries are easy to replace when needed.

Weaknesses: The response on the mouse control is good but very sensitive and requires lots of practising in order to use well. The remote will NOT work with Keynote.

Star Rating 4 out of 5.

Price Guide £60 / $60