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iPad Presentations with iPad Air rocked the house!!!

JoeRito

JoeRito

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 12, 2012
505
155
New England, USA
Gave a presentation today in front of a large group of physicians ( I'm in Finance, it was budget related). Many of our physician leaders bring devices to meetings, including numerous MBPs, MBAs, and iPads as they can afford whatever tools they want and many choose Apple devices.

I used Keynote and, while it's not PowerPoint, it is great for quick presentations and allows you to draw on your iPad to emulate a laser pointer on the projected screen. Just need lightning to VGA adapter to plug into the projector. Our doc's were impressed and wanted to do the same thing when they presented. Most of the younger MDs thought the set up was ultra cool or "urban slick" as one said.

Don't need to go to medical school to be the coolest kid at work:)
 
If I do say so myself I thought this was awesome to read. Way to go pal. :)

And just also too, it's so cool to hear the iPad used in such a setting. I don't know... It's just kind of.. exactly what you'd expect from the iPad. You know? Anyway, cool share. I love public speaking so this was cool to read.
 
Great story.

This simply highlights the usability/portability of the Air. Often times, portability is not given much credit because everyone is comparing the Air to the mini. But I bring my air with me to work everyday in my briefcase, and I don't notice the increased in weight (0.25lbs...really?). I used to carry with me the mini for the past year until I upgraded to the Air.

I understand that some think if you're going to lug around something this size to work, might as well carry around a laptop. I disagree. The Air is STILL much easier to bring with you wherever you go (work, coffee shop, park, etc...) and the usability for a lot of people (web browsing, email. iWork) makes it so that the Air CAN actually be a laptop replacement for a lot of people. Plus much cheaper than a laptop (well apple laptop, anyhow :D)

It's a thin slab of aluminum and glass, with no buttons, with a gorgeous retina screen, and it weighs ONE pound. When you lift the Smart Cover, it turns on in 1/2 second and is ready to go (whereas the laptop takes much longer to power up and power down). Plus battery life is several hours longer than laptops. And with keynote, you can make and present gorgeous presentations on the fly (like the OP did). Not to mention do some word processing and read/store PDFs. Not to mention you can FaceTime whenever you'd like (Jetsons anyone)
 
Now if they could make the Apple TV device so you can use airplay without the need for wifi, then it would even be more slick. You could walk around the room with no wires, and have Apple TV connected to projector or monitor. :)
 
wxman2003 said:
Now if they could make the Apple TV device so you can use airplay without the need for wifi, then it would even be more slick. You could walk around the room with no wires, and have Apple TV connected to projector or monitor. :)
Click to expand...

You can if you keep your iphone in your pocket as a hotspot... but it would be great if there could be an app for iphone that made it into an airplay host, so you plug the iphone into the TV with a lightning-HDMI cable and then walk around with the ipad.
 
I have a portable projector where I can just pull out either my iPad or iPhone, attach and show a quick presentation for a few folks or project movies on the wall at home through Netflicks or movies I've purchased for my grandchildren. The grandkids feel like they have their own theater.

It's quick setup and just works great for small meetings.
 
You can draw on the slides in PowerPoint during a presentation too...
Ctrl+P turns the arrow into a pen.
Right-click for colours and options.
Ctrl+A to go back to an arrow.
 
I did this at work too. I administer our RSA server and I demonstrated the RSA SecurID app on my iPhone using my lightning->HDMI adapter and our HDMI capable projector. Real slick :)
 
JoeRito said:
I used Keynote and, while it's not PowerPoint, it is great for quick presentations and allows you to draw on your iPad to emulate a laser pointer on the projected screen.
Click to expand...
Once you learn the work flow and animation feature, Keynote is far superior to PowerPoint. I animate shapes to highlight and point out features on graphical data instead of waving a laser pointer around, and it always receives a great response. It can be done in PowerPoint as well, I'm sure, but I don't know how easily. I've seen a few people attempt to emulate features from my presentations in PowerPoint, and it's never quite as smooth or seemingly as effortless to implement... not sure if that's the software or the operators, though.

iOS Keynote and the iPad as a presentation platform works quite nicely. Aside from being portable and easy to use (especially if you used Keynote on OS X to make the presentation), it tends to "wow" people before you even get off of the title slide. That gives you some good forward momentum going into the presentation.

If you want to "wow" people even more and have an iPhone, get Keynote Remote from the App Store (the app used to be $0.99, I believe it is currently free) and then walk away from your iPad, using the iPhone as a slide controller. Feedback I've received on this setup is that the use of the iPhone impresses people even more than the iPad. It doesn't get people talking as much as as a well-designed presentation that makes good use of animations to convey information, though.

(Tips provided with love... from a medical student :p )
 
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ApplePhy said:
Great story.

This simply highlights the usability/portability of the Air. Often times, portability is not given much credit because everyone is comparing the Air to the mini. But I bring my air with me to work everyday in my briefcase, and I don't notice the increased in weight (0.25lbs...really?). I used to carry with me the mini for the past year until I upgraded to the Air.

I understand that some think if you're going to lug around something this size to work, might as well carry around a laptop. I disagree. The Air is STILL much easier to bring with you wherever you go (work, coffee shop, park, etc...) and the usability for a lot of people (web browsing, email. iWork) makes it so that the Air CAN actually be a laptop replacement for a lot of people. Plus much cheaper than a laptop (well apple laptop, anyhow :D)

It's a thin slab of aluminum and glass, with no buttons, with a gorgeous retina screen, and it weighs ONE pound. When you lift the Smart Cover, it turns on in 1/2 second and is ready to go (whereas the laptop takes much longer to power up and power down). Plus battery life is several hours longer than laptops. And with keynote, you can make and present gorgeous presentations on the fly (like the OP did). Not to mention do some word processing and read/store PDFs. Not to mention you can FaceTime whenever you'd like (Jetsons anyone)
Click to expand...


I have been using my Air docked to the Logitech keyboard I had from last year. It doesn't replacement a laptop because I do not have or need one but using the Air this way with the keyboard is pretty neat.

Now if I can just figure out how to do some other things with the Air others have posted they have done. :)
 
ZBoater said:
We use Apple TVs on 70" LED TVs to do presentations. Projectors are very 90s... ;)
Click to expand...

Hehe - not as cool as a 70" TV, but I can put my LED projector in my laptop carrier and set it up anywhere with electricity and good to go in less than 2 minutes. In my company, we are lucky to have flat screens in our conference rooms and training areas. But if I need to go on a road trip and do a presentation not knowing what is available, my portable projector saves the day. Also at work in spite of all the meeting rooms, we always have visitors and customers in. So at times I do need the flexibility and the portability.

And then the grandkids would much rather watch their movies on the whole wall rather than the TV. :p
 
ZBoater said:
We use Apple TVs on 70" LED TVs to do presentations. Projectors are very 90s... ;)
Click to expand...

That would all depend on the type of projector and screen. The ones I'm used to seeing you couldn't begin to match for size with with any LED/LCD.
 
darknyt said:
That would all depend on the type of projector and screen. The ones I'm used to seeing you couldn't begin to match for size with with any LED/LCD.
Click to expand...

I sense sarcasm in his post. Even a 70" screen will only be usable < 20-30ft. You could still use an Apple TV with a projector... so all you're doing is eliminating the VGA adapter. That said, an Apple TV will work with a projector just fine. You're still better off going from the iPad straight to the video output in my opinion since its a lighter setup.
 
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Ledgem said:
If you want to "wow" people even more and have an iPhone, get Keynote Remote from the App Store (the app used to be $0.99, I believe it is currently free) and then walk away from your iPad, using the iPhone as a slide controller. Feedback I've received on this setup is that the use of the iPhone impresses people even more than the iPad.

(Tips provided with love... from a medical student :p )
Click to expand...

Can you put up a screenshot of what you actually mean !!
 
A lot of the old timers in Finance, like our CFO and VPs, use PowerPoint but not very effectively. They skimp on animation and slide transitions, something Keynote is great at, and many still use Dilbert or other comic strips every 4th or 5th slide in the hopes of getting a laugh or easing tension... Talk about 90's, nobody uses Dilberts anymore. Well needless to say walk in with a nice device with a well animated presentation and it's a real standout! Highly recommend this set up.
 
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I like this thread. I don't get enough opportunities to use modern technology to present things. I got an old Dell Computer, and a VGA projector.
If only I could use my iPad in this fashion.

Good share.
 
ZBoater said:
Ummm, some of us still do. Very effectively I might add. Not every audience is made up of millennials you know... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

No offense intended my friend. But honestly, asking the audience to read even a brief comic strip stuffed into a presentation has gotten a little stale. I love Dilbert, but most folks have moved on to other types of pictures/ symbols/ animation to make a point or get a laugh. Just something to think about.
 
JoeRito said:
No offense intended my friend. But honestly, asking the audience to read even a brief comic strip stuffed into a presentation has gotten a little stale. I love Dilbert, but most folks have moved on to other types of pictures/ symbols/ animation to make a point or get a laugh. Just something to think about.
Click to expand...

Ummmm, ok. I'm glad that what works for you works for "most folks". I'll think about it while I try to bend my reality to match yours... :rolleyes:
 
ZBoater said:
Ummmm, ok. I'm glad that what works for you works for "most folks". I'll think about it while I try to bend my reality to match yours... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Hey use what works for you. I read your comments and they seem reasonable and, at times, helpful. Just a different perspective here on how to modernize a presentation in the workplace. Likely we both agree the Air is an awesome tool useful for more than internet consumption!
 
I would add that too many fancy transitions becomes too flashy and distracts! You have to have both substance and presence!
 
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