I've previously written about presentation apps for iDevices. I didn't have a lot of luck in my pursuit of decent PowerPoint presentation tools, but I did have success with one:SlideShark. Since my previous article, SlideShark has made some updates to its app that I'd like to share.
What is SlideShark?
SlideShark is an app for iOS with an accompanying website. First you upload presentations online at www.slideshark.comand then you can use your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch to share your presentations on the go. Animations, fonts, graphics, and colors are all preserved. Slides can also be shared through the app for on-demand viewing and statistical tracking. Interested in other sites for PowerPoint deck sharing? Click here.
So what's new?
Version 2.0 expanded the app beyond just the iPad to include the iPhone as well. Taking the iPhone's screen size into consideration, a pinch to zoom feature (that is not available on the iPad) was added to the app. It will also work on the iPod touch.
But that's not all. Just a month after releasing 2.0, SlideShark debuted version 2.1. With the new release came direct access to Box and Dropbox accounts. Rather than downloading your presentation from Box or Dropbox, uploading it to the SlideShark site, and then accessing it from the SlideShark app, you can now access your cloud-stored presentations from right within the app. I linked the app on my iPhone to my Dropbox account and found that the service does work as promised--eventually. Connecting the app to Dropbox was a bit of a process, as it took several tries to get the app to connect. I tried on the iPad first but found that the app would get caught up and never finish the process. The iPhone took a couple tries but was eventually successful. After connecting Dropbox, I had further troubles getting the presentations from my Dropbox account to download. A dialog box saying I didn't have access to the feature at that time popped up several times (on the iPad as well as the iPhone) before the app finally gave in and let me download the presentation. So, in summary: this feature does work. BUT don't wait 'til the last minute before an important meeting or presentation, as it may give you fits for a little while.
The newest version also boasts video support, but I had no luck with this. Videos in my presentation did not play at all. I tried clicking the video, but doing so only advanced me to the next slide. I also tried changing my Slideshark settings to auto advance the slide (so no clicking would be necessary), but this did not work either. I checked out the Slideshark blog and learned that the app does not currently support .mov, .mp4, .qt, and .aav files. So, in the end, user error on that one, but it would have been nice to have a heads up on that within the app without having to search the Slideshark blog. If your videos are in one of the unsupported file formats, using a video converter before embedding should fix the issue for you.
Need to be able to work a room? With version 2.1 your iPhone can use Bluetooth to act as a remote control for the presentation on your iPad. If you lose Bluetooth connectivity your phone will vibrate to alert you, as you will need to reconnect the devices. I tried it out and found that it worked flawlessly. After ensuring both my iPad and iPhone were set to use Bluetooth, it took only a couple taps to connect the two. I tested the reach of the remote feature and was able to get outside the office and about 100 feet outside the building before I lost connectivity. My iPhone did vibrate when I lost connectivity, but it also vibrated every time I progressed a slide (albeit not as much), so that was a bit confusing.
What's still missing?
I'd like to see the iPhone remote control functionality expanded to work as a remote for desktop systems as well. Being able to use the iPad as the remote in these instances would be nice too; then you could have large format notes, etc. available right in front of you with your remote. Expansion of video file format compatibility would certainly be a plus for me. I'm also excited for the release of the Android app for Google Play which, rumor has it, is on the horizon (no exact release date).
Overall, the updates are great and have the potential to really help out those who need to be able to present on the go. A little fine tuning of that Dropbox download function and some additional features couldn't hurt, but since this is afree app, there is a lot to like here.
***AJ teaches a live, 3-hour class that offers tips/tricks for improving the look and feel of your PowerPoint presentations: Slide Sprucing: Remodeling Lackluster PowerPoint Slides for eLearning and Presentations.
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