Have you ever needed to give a presentation to a client, potential client, coworkers, or boss? Most of us have been in that position. You can’t deny that a good presentation is a powerful way to convey information and convince people.
The old school way to do presentations was to use design my presentation using Powerpoint, bring my laptop, find somewhere to set it up, and run the presentation. In fact, recently I visited a potential client who called me to purchase one of my applications. I drove out to their location and fired up my laptop, the 3 of us huddled around the laptop to see the presentation. I know there has to be a better way.
Keynote for iPad
Keynote is a presentation app for iPad (also iPhone and iTouch). Keynote was designed specifically for iOS mobile devices so it is is perfectly suited. Keynote gives you the ability to use high quality animated charts and transitions. So you say you want 3D charts?? No problem for Keynote.
Creating and editing presentations is easy with Keynote. The layout and flow is very intuitive and personally is much better than Powerpoint on the desktop. Unlike Powerpoint, Keynote has only a few icons on the designer. There is an insert button which you use to add content to your slides. There is a format brush which most people should be familiar with this. The play and tools buttons are also there. Keeping it simple makes creating and editing quality presentations…quickly very easy.
You can show your presentation directly on your iPad using full screen mode or you can connect to a HD display and display it for a larger audience. My opinion is that carrying only an iPad into a meeting is much simpler than unpacking a laptop. You have the added ability to simply hand the iPad to the client and let him hold it and view the presentation on that gorgeous Retina display.
Considering the cost comparison between Powerpoint and Keynote you get much more bang for the buck with Keynote. It will be the best $10 you ever spend if you give a lot of presentations.
Here is the full feature list:
• Choose from 12 Apple-designed themes including Gradient, Showroom, and Portfolio
• Design your presentation using your choice of slide masters, animations, fonts, and style options
• View and edit Keynote ’09 or Microsoft PowerPoint presentations; easily import files from Mail, the web, a WebDAV service, or your Mac or PC using iTunes File Sharing
• Use iCloud to start editing your presentation right where you left off on another device
• Drag Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to icloud.com from your PC to have them automatically appear on your devices
Format and animate your slides
• Arrange the objects on your slides simply by dragging them to the slide canvas
• Create sophisticated animations using Magic Move, which automatically animates objects across consecutive slides
• Animate objects on slides with more than 20 builds
• Choose from over 20 professional-quality slide transitions, including Anagram, Page Flip, Mosaic, and Twist
• Use predefined text styles or choose text options to personalize your slides
• Quickly add your photos and videos from the Photos app using the Media Browser
• Organize your data with beautiful charts and tables
• Create and view impressive 3D bar, line, area, and pie charts, complete with 3D chart animation
• Skim through your presentation, add new slides, and reorder slides with the slide navigator
• Use advanced presentation controls including autoplay, looped, and viewer-guided slideshows
• Keynote automatically saves your presentations as you make changes
• Use the undo feature to go back through your previous changes — even the next time you open your presentation
Present and share.
• Use video mirroring to display any presentation on an external display or projector; navigate slides, view presenter notes, and use the laser pointer while presenting from your iOS device; stream wirelessly using AirPlay and Apple TV, or use an adapter (sold separately)
• Copy presentations to a WebDAV service or directly to your Mac or PC using iTunes File Sharing
• Print your presentations on a wireless printer on your network using AirPrint
• Share your work by exporting it as a Keynote ’09, Microsoft PowerPoint, or PDF file and sending it via Mail