Making Mobile Presentations Without a Laptop? 122
eggled writes "My boss makes mobile presentations fairly frequently, but is sick of lugging around his gargantuan laptop (a Toshiba A25-S207). It's fallen to me to see if I can solve this for him. I began looking at netbooks and such, but many of them are slightly high for our price bracket (being that he already owns a fully functional laptop; this will be a presentations-only machine). His current cell phone, a Motorola RAZR, is getting decrepit and the contract is up, so I figured I'd look at smartphone-style replacement, and let AT&T subsidize the cost of the new phone. What I'm hoping to find is a phone that can be attached to a VGA-input projector, and play Powerpoint presentations (PDF would work, too). Web access is a must, but I think I'd be hard pressed to buy a high end phone that won't have internet access, so I'm unconcerned on that topic. Anybody out there have experience with this sort of thing or have suggestions on what route to take?"
iPhone (Score:1, Redundant)
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Well of course. Everything blends (Except Chuck Norris).
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Low-tech alternative (Score:1, Funny)
Dance!
Re:Low-tech alternative (Score:5, Funny)
iPhone's not a bad idea (Score:4, Interesting)
Its not going to be drag and drop, but it is pretty straight forward
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I know Apple sells composite and component cable adapters for iphones/ipods now.
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http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/29/creatives-zen-x-fi-player-with-wifi-gets-a-lot-more-real/ [engadget.com]
No details on the type of outputs, but the Zen Vision series have composite a/v out at a resolution of 640x480. That'd be plenty enough for some presentations.
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Get him a pad of D size paper... (Score:4, Insightful)
...an easel, and some Magic Markers.
Or, if you want to go high-tech, have make transparencies and arrange for an overhead projector at each site. I hear you can even make transparencies with a computer these days.
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Slides aren't just waste of time. It depends how you do them.
I'll grant you the fact that many people don't know how to do them well. (And I don't even talk about annoying effects)
Real men... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Real men... (Score:5, Funny)
Well, real men actually use two pointers, and cross the beams for 3d presentations.
Re:Real men... (Score:5, Funny)
You shouldn't cross the beams.
Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
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Total protonic reversal.
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You are posting to the wrong story. You are probably thinking about the Large Hardon Collider.
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No, think: who ya gonna call?
Asus Eee? (Score:1)
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The EEE (at least the 900 I have) has a VGA port, which is usually all you need to hook up to most projectors.
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It does get a bit slow on high-density pictures, though, but maybe that is a problem with either acroread or the openoffice pdf export.
Good thing about netbook vs iphone is that you can still make last-minute changes, a very important feature. The 7 inch screen is a bit low on screen-estate though, when you edit a table, the table edit pop-up takes up a lot of space all of a sudden, and is quite likely to cover the text you were editing.
What's wrong with a... (Score:5, Insightful)
Chalkboard or Whiteboard?
I mean really -- is Edward Tufte [wikipedia.org] fighting a losing battle with his Criticism of PowerPoint [amazon.com], and we're already seeing people incapable of thinking outside of bullet points?
Re:What's wrong with a... (Score:5, Insightful)
I have to present new features at my company's annual meeting this fall. The company marketing directors were shocked when I stated I had no powerpoint to provide them. I was then told PowerPoint slides are mandatory, so I will be presenting from a white slide with our company name in black text.
Unfortunately, I think that will only work for one year. :(
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Show them a Keynote presentation instead. With a minimum of work, your slides will look a lot more professional, especially compared to anything I've ever seen done with PowerPoint.
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Agreed. I frequently get compliments on my Keynote presentations along the lines of "How the hell did you DO that?!?". Last week I gave a 104 slide talk in 90 minutes, with questions, and it was a huge hit.
If I have more than a dozen words on a slide, I consider it a bad slide, and break it up... or replace it with an illustration while I just, y'know... talk.
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Excellent link, that's exactly the issues behind the problem I see.
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The point was that slides have become a hallmark of bad presentations. The GP doesn't want any slides, no mater how snazzy.
I personally think there is a happy medium. In his case I might make 1 slide with a list of the new features and then animate it to highlight each one in turn. Enough to remind people where we are when the mind wanders without being distracting.
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I think the difference in quality of presentations between Keynote and PowerPoint has very little to do with the software itself. They're both just slideware, and PowerPoint is every bit as capable of making good presentations as Keynote is of making bad ones. Bullet points in Keynote are equally ineffective as those in PP.
Rather, it has everything to do with the person giving the presentation. Perhaps those using Macs just tend to be a little more receptive to the "tell a story" method of presenting, ra
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That's the truth. I get compliments on my presentations all the time, which I make with OpenOffice Impress. And heavens knows that's not a piece of effortless, smooth software on par with Keynote.
--saint
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He was wrong to begin with. Powerpoint merely enables people with either marginal skills or marginal effort to create a presentation. There's no reason to believe that presentation would be any more insightful on a chalkboard. It would, however, last longer. So bring on the slides, I say.
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But the whiteboard would probably require them to think it through some more.
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While I haven't read the book, there are a few strengths to using a PDF (or if you must, powerpoint).
1) It provides documentation that people can reference later.
2) Since documentation is provided, it allows people to concentrate on the important points rather than taking notes.
3) It allows for additional detailed documentation to be included in the file, so you may reference things you do not wish to memorize.
And most importantly
4) It forces the presenter to organize his/her thoughts so that he/she does no
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"we're already seeing people incapable of thinking outside of bullet points?"
If all they relate to is the familiar bullet point presentation, and you want to sell them something, then that is what to use.
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I was talking about the presenter, not the audience. I'm sure an intelligent person could come up with a way to sell people who only understand bullet-point-grade information even without the crutch.
Bite the bullet (Score:2)
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Good point. I never take a laptop with me for presentations; only a USB stick with the presentation on it. Of course you have to make sure that your presentation works on all standard Windows computers; that means no fancy movies that are prone to failing, and no extraordinary fonts. But for me that is not a problem.
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The netbook may be the only other option. TV out cables are great, except that not all projectors support them. Some of the projectors are old, and only do
Nokia N95 (Score:1, Interesting)
iPod, Treo, Blackberry (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;625432195;pp;2;fp;;fpid [computerworld.com.au];
You could also just convert the PowerPoint file into a movie file, then use an iPhone to play it, pausing on each frame. Looks liek that;s exactly what this guy did:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=366966 [macrumors.com]
and *Cheaply!* (Score:2)
Buy one of the old Handheld PCs (NEC mobile pro series, Cassiopia, etc.), and just keep it to SIMPLE slides that you can backport to office 97. (just make sure its running windows CE with powerpoint presenter on it)
These oldschool handhelds are as cheap as water on ebay, and all the cables, computer, etc. could be had for below 100$. Just keep the slides down to something really, really simple and backvert it to office 97.
Dell Axim X50v/X51v (Score:2)
Unfortunately Dell has stopped making these great PDA's, so I don't know if you can get them now and at what price (they used to be very competitively priced though), but they had the presentation package which gave you a VGA-out and a powerpoint player compatible with it.
A friend of mine who teaches in U. of Miami has given a few lectures using it and is quite pleased.
Also, your boss might consider getting an Asus EEE to move around when he doesn't need a laptop with mucho horsepower...
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Old XDA-2s and I think some of the newer stuff from HTC have pocket powerpoint players and a backpack with VGA output.
Am I allowed to mention them here? - they do run Win Mobile after all.
I don't usually recommend this company, but... (Score:2)
Apple TV [apple.com].
It's very small, inexpensive, and can be hacked to run Linux. It'll output to HDMI/DVI.
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But not VGA nor S-Video. It's also restricted to 16:9 output only, it doesn't have any option for 4:3.
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Is that true if you have an alternative OS installed?
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No idea, never tried.
Do company projectors usually have HDMI or Components inputs?
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Every projector we've bought in the past 4 or 5 years has had component input...
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MOD PARENT UP (Score:2)
Yup, this might work even better than the Apple TV.
Used laptops (Score:1)
Get a used Thinkpad x31 or x32, or some other small/light "road warrior" laptop. If he is always connecting it to a projector, ditch the battery and anything else removable to reduce weight.
Simple (Score:4, Informative)
Any phone/pda with windows mobile and a usb/cf port will do.
You just need:
- A USB/CF VGA card
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint Mobile
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Look into a windows based device (Score:2, Insightful)
I have T-mobile dash and it has the ability to view and edit Word, Excel, and Power Point. I'm not sure if it can connect to projector, but I can use the EDGE network and connect my laptop through it, so I mean heck if you have a cord that connects to a mini usb port it might be what you need.
Or I could be totally wrong. (And I'm going to the iPhone so I don't want everyone getting their anti-Microsoft panties in a bunch, Android isn't out yet and I don't want the first iteration of it when it comes out; wh
EEE laptop (Score:4, Insightful)
They're relatively cheap and even the 701 has sufficient oomph to run XP+Powerpoint, assuming you don't go crazy with transitions and movies. I have a 4 gig 701, it does up to 1600x1280 externally. Combined with a bluetooth presentation mouse, it makes a great presentation kit that you can fit in an overcoat pocket.
Though I left it with the default linux install on the SSD(I mostly use it to remote in while abroad), as the open office version of powerpoint is sufficient for my needs.
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it makes a great presentation kit that you can fit in an overcoat pocket
And weighs about two pounds.
I just bought one for that exact purpose, after lugging a brick around at two back-to-back conferences.
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How much do you make? (Score:4, Insightful)
How much do you make, and how important are these presentations?
If he's flying about the world, he's paying large sums of money for the presentation time he has.
Even if his time and travel isn't valuable, the people who he's making the presentations to must be, or he wouldn't be making presentations.
$500 for a netbook is chump change.
Assuming you make any decent salary, you've probably already spent more then that on research for this scheme already.
I recommend a MSI Wind(~$500) if money is really that tight, or a Lenovo X61(~$1000) if you've got a little more change.
The lowend EEE PC's at ~$300 are a bargain, but in my opinion they have an unusably small screen and keyboard.
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What I want to know is what's something you can make presentations with that you don't have to take out of your bag at airport security. For me that's the worst part of "lugging around" a laptop. Not only does it take too long, I always worry that somewhere in the process the laptop is going to get owned. Even as a backup, something that qualifies as not-enough-of-a-laptop by TSA standards would be nice.
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I've had the opportunity to notice a few times that these days people are are being asked to pull out smartphones, so I don't know if you can get around it.
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That sucks. Isn't the whole point to be able to determine if the thing is a bomb? Can a bomb as small as an iPhone/Blackberry/Trio even do any damage to anyone who's not talking on it at the time?
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If it's just a shell full of explosive: hell yeah.
But if it actually works: probably not.
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Black Jack (Score:1)
Simple and Trusted tech (Score:2)
I'd say buy him a low end but light laptop with a minimum of software, Windows XP and MS Office, and a nice VGA out port. Something simple, reliable, and when he walks into a presentation all that he needs to do is plug in the VGA cable, and maybe an audio cable for sound.
All of these PDA and iP
Casio XJ-S31 (Score:1)
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Weight 3.96 lbs.
How is a projector better than a laptop?
EEE PC (Score:2)
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Think portable Media Players or PDAs... (Score:3, Insightful)
Ouch, nobody should be carting around any laptop just for presentations anymore. This is 2008.
There are a ton of Portable Media players that have Video out capabilities and can do either slide shows via pictures (exported from presentation software) or Video (exported from presentation software). This is also a cheap way to go.
I have an old Creative Zen:M Vision, and it outputs DVD resolution, even though the built in screen is 320x240, and I use it for things like this all the time. RCA cables and any projector or TV and viola an instant presentation, movie fest, etc...
Just check the Video output specs and then size and video/photo format he is comfortable working with.
If you need MORE than just a picture viewer or video player...
UMPC if you have $$ to burn, there are several tiny PCs (smaller than Airbooks) that are full XP or Vista based computers or even older Windows CE/Mobile based computers. Think checkbook size..
Assuming $500-1000 isn't an option...
Pick up (even an old) Windows PDA or Windows Mobile Phone that has Video out (Pocket PC, Windows CE) - they are all the same thing, and can do Powerpoint with annotations and other 'presentation' like functions.
Again, just make sure the device has a Video out connector that works for typical senerios.
(This is not a time to hate MS and Windows, as you can get Windows Mobile PDAs very cheap, especially an older model that will do everything but shine your shoes, and you can even use freaking VB to write an application for him if you want it to do more.)
Good Luck...
iphone (Score:1)
I had to do this too (Score:2)
I had to do this too once upon a time (do presentations without a laptop.) Here's how I solved it:
Seriously, there will be a PC plugged into the presentation device at the other end. For conferences and such, there's a little box on the speaker information form you fill out before you go where you can indicate you'll need a PC or laptop. They'll accommodate you. If presenting at a business partner or customer site, they'll also have a P
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For conferences and such, there's a little box on the speaker information form you fill out before you go where you can indicate you'll need a PC or laptop.
Alternatively, do like all visiting vendors and speakers do where I work. Just show up completely unprepared. Five minutes before the presentation the speaker finds IT, enters the department and proclaims, "You guys don't know me, and I don't work here. But I'm doing a presentation in five minutes and I need a projector, a laptop, internet access, an extension cord and a power strip... right now! Oh and you have to convert the presentation from my crappy presentation software to whatever crappy presentat
iMate Ultimate 6150 and 8150 (Score:1)
These are Windows Mobile 6 phones and include the cable and software for you to run powerpoint presentations to a projector or anything else with a vga in.
They actually have an nVidia GoForce 5500 which is a poorly supported but very high end mobile graphics chipset for 24-bit audio as well as hardware video encoding/decoding and 3d graphics acceleration. This should work much better than the card based add-on's available for some pda's.
I have the 6150 and have used the vga out with my projector. The phon
Visor with Springboard (Score:2)
The old Palm-based Visor had a plug-in springboard module, cables included, that would allow you to give a PowerPoint presentation. It actually worked well, and I used one when I was teaching at the college level. Small, lightweight, and includes the cables.
Windows Mobile and Margi Presenter to Go (Score:1)
Windows Mobile device and a this program http://www.margi.com/support/sup_ptg_comp.htm [margi.com]. The linked page has a list of devices that it runs on. That should work.
Nokia N95 (Score:1)
ultraportable (Score:2)
It seems you're trying to shoehorn too many things into one package. It also seems like you have a remarkably small budget for a company that does a lot of travel. But, given those two, my recommendations would be:
1. Get a used road-warrior class ultraportable from eBay. An IBM x31 or HP nc4000. Both are light (under 3lbs), have full-size keyboards, decent displays, and will fit the bill for a presentation machine. Both are available for about $300 if you are careful (be sure to ask about the display).
Just use a camera (Score:1)
If you're just using slides in some order, then create them and save them as JPEGs to an SD card, pop it into you're digital camera, and connect it to an NTSC video monitor with the cable included with the camera. Point'n'Shoot cameras are certainly suitable small, no?
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Impatica Showmate (Score:2)
You're looking for this:
http://www.impatica.com/showmate/ [impatica.com]
Basically, it's a box about 2 inches square with a VGA output that you can either pair up with Bluetooth to a Blackberry, WinMobile or Symbian device, or that you can hook up via USB to one of said devices, and that basically runs your powerpoint show (which is on the mobile device) or shows what's on your screen.
Works well. No laptop.
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Sony Ericsson® handheld with Java platform 5 or higher and Bluetooth
So, I assume someone can hack it to run with Linux. :)
List of function devices for mobile presentations (Score:1)
I found a website that talks about using a PDA or cell phone with powerpoint. from the website.
"To allow videotape output, a projection device is typically required for converting and transmitting the videotape signal to an external monitor or LCD projector. Currently, in the United States, there are five companies that manufacture these projection devices: Presenter-To-Go from Margi [1], Voyager VGA CF from Colorgraphic [2], iGo Pitch from Mobility Electronics [3], FlyJacket and FlyPresenter from HP/Compaq
the PSP (Score:1)
Mini projector (Score:1)
Get a mini projector.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/01/mints-v10-mini-projector-gets-price-and-release-date/ [engadget.com]
This one has 1GB of internal storage, so I guess you can put your presentation right onto it.
DVD SLIDESHOW (Score:1)
Miniest laptop (Score:2)
5.6" 1.5lb Fujitsu U810 tablet/hybrid UMPC. Its a laptop yes but its tiny. It has a keyboard, but if boss-man needs to ever write anything, a 2.2lb 8.9" P1610D will serve far better. It too is pretty damned tiny. I have an older model P1120 and I cannot use it in public without getting a stream of people asking whether its really a laptop and commenting on how amazingly small new technology is (its a 4 year old laptop).
Anything you do on a phone now is going to be pretty hacky. A lot of business projec
Talk to the producers of "Hackers" (Score:2)
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If your investors are going to give you more money for using Keynote, then you have already won the battle of conning them. Forget a presentation, just demand more cash.
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This looks perfect -- small, lightweight, relies on a smartphone, VGA not RCA, bluetooth (so there is one less wire to worry about)
Thanks for the link!
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Their software improves with each new release and they support pretty solid list of PPT features.
You can also display the BB's screen in a recent update, so one can show off custom BB apps on a live device (lots of customers are (rightly) leery of demos using the device simulator).