Thursday, June 12, 2014

Thing 13: Presentations

If you’ve ever taken a class or attended a meeting you’ve no doubt seen a presentation. Wouldn’t it be nice to make a quick and easy presentation from your phone? With several free apps you can!

Many of the free apps highlighted on the 23 Mobile Things page are made for Apple, but there are two that work for Android.

Lensoo Create sounded interesting because of virtual whiteboard capabilities along with voice. Presentations can easily be shared via email, Facebook or Twitter. While this app sounds like it has many great features, it does sound like an app that would work better with a stylus which I don’t have. I looked into trying Deck Slideshow Presentations based on the description this was an app that was VERY, VERY EASY to use to create presentations. Unfortunately, when I tried to download both apps, neither one was compatible with my version of android so I had to go hunting for one that was.

I discovered that there are very few presentation making apps that are compatible with my version of Android, however, Presentation Maker is one I discovered that is. The description described it as an equivalent of the PC Powerpoint program.

The app has a very simple and intuitive lay out. The main screen opens to one of four options, one of which is a tutorial on how to use the app, however, it is so easy to pick up and use you can probably skip it and be fine most of the time.

The presentation maker is basic, which is what I was expecting for a phone model, however, it did have a fair number of features I was not expecting. It gave me the ability to choose between a plain color background (my choice of any color and any shade off the paint type wheel which I was impressed about), or an image (selected from either my gallery on the phone or taken by my camera on the spot). I have the ability to add different shapes, as well as text. I could modify text color, font, etc. All of the items were quick and easy to drag, drop and move. I could choose from one of several transitions in between slides and there is a transition button so I can see how my slide will look when finished. There is a save button as well as an edit button so it can be a work in progress. The only part I found tricky was that I didn't see any way to increase or decrease the size of the shapes and text, but that could just be my user error. 
While the app I tried is definitely easy to use and has many great features, I can’t see myself using it in my day to day life either personally or professionally. For many items that I may create professionally, I’d rather do it on a computer simply for ease of use, extra features and storage capabilities, however, for many people I can see how these apps would be useful when on the go. 

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