Posts Tagged ‘iPad’
Monday, May 20th, 2013
Modern tech is, for the most part, beautiful. When we use smartphones and tablets to present they’re often more than a tool – they’re a statement of our techie credentials.
Sleek lines, intuitive interfaces and portability are all key features, but as many once proud owners know the fragility of design that we all seem to love results in, well, fragility.
Over the years this has been approached in two ways;
Some smartphones have taken the Mr T approach and bulked up .The Casio G’zOne Commando is rated for complete water immersion, driving rain, dust, falls (up to four feet), vibrations, humidity, -13 to 185 degree temperatures, low pressure, salt fog, and solar radiation. It can survive being run over by a truck, a trip to the zoo and relaxing in a Jacuzzi – but , let’s be honest, James Bond wouldn’t give it pocket space.
Other attempts have been of a more aftermarket effort. Anyone hoping to make their smartphone or tablet look like it’s been wrapped in a recycled truck tyre has plenty of options and replacement screens (along with the associated embarrassing/hilarious/plainly stupid explanations) are a revenue/entertainment stream all by themselves.
Now Apple are doing it their way.
They currently have a US Patent Pending for the tech equivalent of a cat. A device that will sit inside your smartphone or tablet, detect when it is falling and reorientate itself to land in the least damaging position.
Using the level of tech usually associated with a lunar landing craft (thrusters included) as an over engineered reaction to the weakest link in the tech chain, (Home Sapiens), is undoubtedly as Bond worthy as it can be.
Now to find a way to apply it to buttered toast…
Tags: Apple, Communication, Future Tech, iPad, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools
Posted in Mobile Technology, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, April 12th, 2013
It’s been a while since we all got excited about the “impending” launch of the PowerPoint app for iOS, the operating system that runs your iPad and iPhone. We spoke to luminaries within Microsoft who remained tight lipped but had a glint in their eye. We chatted it through with other app developers to get their opinions regarding the whole soap opera.
The anticipation was palpable – finally the iPad was going to be released from the clutches of the clunky (but getting better) Keynote app and allow presenters across the world to take their tried and trusted PowerPoint files and move them over to their favourite tablet device.
Rumour had it that the launch would coincide with the full release of Office 2013…but it never happened. And, fellow tech and presentation early adopters, it would seem we still have some time to wait…until Autumn next year. Or so the rumour mill has it –>
What does this mean to those business people poised to present via their iPad?
The truth is that most will have found a way around the inconvenience, either by figuring out which PowerPoint animations, fonts and features Keynote plays nicely with…and sticking with those. Or perhaps by using a conversion app (BTW – Slideshark is by far the best in the market…and we’ve tried them all) or by thinking bigger and pulling upon experts to create a fully interactive and rich media iBook presenter pack.
To find out more about any of these options, give us a call and we’ll happily chat it through and share some examples.
There may be a few ardent Microsoft fans who persisted with the awful buyer experience and actually managed to get their hands on a Microsoft Surface. I’ve not met any of these mythical creatures (and my guess is that neither have you).
In summary, we’ll have to see what this prevarication means to Microsoft when they do finally get around to releasing the inevitable app. My gut feeling? The anticipation and need has evaporated over time, people have worked their way around the issue and, frankly, Microsoft have missed the boat.
Tags: Eyeful Presentations, iPad, Microsoft, Office 15, PowerPoint, Presentation Design, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Presentations, Slideshark
Posted in General information, iPad, Mobile Technology, PowerPoint, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools | No Comments »
Friday, November 9th, 2012
In the concluding part of our interview with Shawn Villaron from Microsoft, we talk to him about the future of PowerPoint and the impact that innovations like Prezi are making in the presentation world.
Then, without fear for personal safety, Simon broaches the iPad issue issue and, to his credit, Shawn shares some of the current Microsoft thinking in terms of iPad action…
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Listen to Part One – What Mr PPT loves about Office 2013 – here.
Listen to Part Two – Is ‘Death by PowerPoint’ covered by CSR? – here.
Tags: iPad, Microsoft, PowerPoint, Presentation Design, Presentation Technology, Prezi, Shawn Villeron
Posted in iPad, Mobile Technology, PowerPoint, Presentation Design, Presentation Skills, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 1st, 2012
The iPad has not only led the way in tablet technology but has also distinguished itself as something of a tech phenomena, our friends at SlideShark have recently surveyed 1,300 iPad users throwing out some startling / sad / thought provoking statistics:
32% of survey respondents would rather have a root canal than accidentally destroy their iPad. 26% said they would rather break their nose, and a whopping 40% said they would rather get into a minor car accident. 10% of users said they would rather lose their jobs.
43% said they appreciate the iPad being like a “pacifier” for their children, while 27% said they love the tablet simply because it’s a “piece of art.”
42% of users would rather lose their driving license than their iPad, 20% would rather lose their wedding ring and 27% would rather lose their wallet.
67% said the tablet has completely replaced books for them. 31% said their iPad has replaced their TV, another 31% said it has replaced their camera and 32% said it’s replaced their GPS.
47% of users said they would rather have their iPads at work than get a bigger office, while 34% said they wouldn’t even give up the tablet for a promotion to a more senior position. 68% said they’d rather have an iPad at work than their own designated parking space, and 23% said they would take the tablet over an extra week of paid holiday.
Just under half of BrainShark’s 1,300 respondents said they would rather give up food during a day of travel than not have their iPad on hand. A slightly lower 41% said they would give up water for a 24-hour period before they’d give up their beloved tablets, while 35% said they’d risk forgoing all bathroom breaks.
35% of iPad owners would rather forget to pack a change of clothes for a business trip than forget the tablet, and an even greater 55% said they’d rather forget deodorant. Some users were even willing to risk damages to their home if it meant their iPads were in tow; 22% said they would rather forget to lock their front door than forget to pack the tablet, and 17% said they’d rather forget to turn off the oven.
Maybe there’s a need for some sort of ‘Swiss Army iPad’ to help these singularly minded people!
Tags: Amusing, Apple, iPad, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Presentations, Slideshark
Posted in iPad, Mobile Technology, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Sales Presentation | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
In part two of our interview with Andy Zimmerman from SlideShark, he talks about their continuing innovation programme. With updates approximately every six weeks there’s an awful lot going on…
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To hear part one please click here.
Part three will be available on Friday 2nd November here.
Tags: Andy Zimmerman, Apple, iPad, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Slideshark
Posted in General information, iPad, Mobile Technology, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 30th, 2012
The iPad Mini is now (officially at least) one week old and in that time there has been no shortage of comment and review. Not only that, but by the end of this week Apple enthusiasts will be able to actually get their hands on one.
Which brings me beautifully to my first point. Apple have touted the mini as a device that can be comfortably held in one hand – undeniably true if you’re six foot plus or an orang-utan but maybe not so easy for the rest of us. At 134.7mm wide I think the ‘one hand hold’ may be something akin to holding three tennis balls, but without the benefit of the easy bounce back on failure!
To be fair it has been launched (in an uncharacteristically reactive way for Apple) to challenge the Amazon Kindle and the Google Nexus so how does it stack up and are these really the only competition?
Apple have understood that to make an impact in this area they need to be competitive on price (something which has much less relevance when targeting ‘dyed in the wool’ Applistas). With a price range from £269 – £429 there is some discrepancy here, the base model is double the price of the Kindle Fire and at the top of the range you’re in iPad territory. But maybe that magic Apple cache will make the difference.
I hesitate to use the words ‘cheap’ and ‘Apple’ in the same sentence but in aiming for a lower price point Apple have had to make sacrifices. The iPad Mini uses the A5 processor so it will be slower than both the iPhone 5 and the new iPad (which run the A6). It has also had to forgo the retina display giving it less visual impact as well. These may well be the two factors that could leave it in no man’s land.
Apple enthusiasts will notice the differences in speed and resolution from the off, risking the possibility of them seeing this as a poor relation to their other tech. But that’s not the real issue here, both the Nexus and the Kindle have higher resolution screens and (on paper) the Nexus has a faster processor, so why spend the extra money?
When it comes to choosing one of these three it will all be down to personal choice – the operating system will be a big consideration for those who are used to an android platform – but I can’t help thinking that it will be that ‘goes with anything’ Apple logo that will make the difference to many.
This is not a product aimed specifically at business users but the price point will appeal to corporate money jugglers and the size may well appeal to those who prefer not to heft about a cavernous handbag / manbag. This means that it will undoubtedly become a presentation tool for many mobile presenters and the time spent by techy types mastering iPad presentations should come in handy here.
But before you get shopping I’d just like to throw a wild card into the mix – Samsung Galaxy Note. It can do all the stuff that the others can and make phone calls too – just a thought!
Tags: Apple, Design, iPad, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools
Posted in General information, iPad, Mobile Technology, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools | No Comments »
Monday, October 29th, 2012
There has been so much going on in the tech world of late that we’ve decided to dedicate a couple of weeks of blogging to two of the biggest influences in our industry. This week we will be focussing on the iPad including a recent interview with Andy Zimmerman of SlideShark and our thoughts on the iPad mini.
Next week we’ll be shifting the focus to Microsoft and looking at what they’ve been up to recently.
Our peripatetic MD Simon Morton caught up with Andy Zimmerman from BrainShark at the Presentation Summit in Arizona recently. In the first part of this interview Andy tells us all about SlideShark and reveals his thoughts on the newly launched Eyeful / SlideShark partnership.
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Part two will be available on Wednesday 31st October.
Part three will be available on Friday 2nd November.
Tags: Andy Zimmerman, BrainShark, Eyeful Presentations, iPad, PowerPoint, Presentations, Sales Pitch, Slideshark
Posted in General information, iPad, Mobile Technology, PowerPoint, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012
We’ve been chatting about our brilliant friends at SlideShark for a while now. We’ve enthused about their clever PowerPoint/iPad solution. In fact we love what they do so much we’ve even gone into partnership with them (stand aside Victor Kiam)!
But we’re obviously not the only one impressed by what our partners are up to.
Most companies have a secret customer wish list, a roll call of big hitters that they’d love to see using their products or services. Usually it contains a decent smattering of household names and industry big hitters and is accompanied by the sort of wishful thinking and cunning planning that sometimes pays off.
SlideShark may or may not have such a list but if they do I’m sure their feeling pretty happy having checked off one of the biggest names in the universe – literally.
NASA has been using SlideShark as part of their training strategy. There are no superlatives that I can add which will make this any more impressive, but I feel I ought not to miss the chance to give the following advice.
Take a look at SlideShark, it’s a simple solution to a complex problem and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how it can benefit your business.
Tags: Eyeful Presentations, iPad, NASA, PowerPoint, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Slideshark
Posted in PowerPoint, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
We mentioned in our recent iBook blog that our research into maximising the potential of the iPad had led us into contact with some very interesting people.
At Eyeful we have always been excited to meet people who share both our passion for presentations and our tendency to lean towards the geeky side of life. As a result of one of these meetings of minds we are now excited to announce that we are launching a joint partnership with the lovely people at SlideShark.
For those of you not yet in the know SlideShark is a cunning little app that effectively allows you to properly use PowerPoint on the iPad and iPhone. Like all the best ideas it can be summed up in a single sentence but SlideShark is actually the result of a lot of brain power, hard work and sophisticated programming and includes some truly brilliant functionality.
Not content with creating harmony between PowerPoint and the iPad, SlideShark has a list of additional features that address the needs and wants of sales teams across the globe. The SlideShark Team Edition caters for the whole presentation journey; preparation, presentation and follow up. Including file sharing, content management and analytics functionality SlideShark has the ability to give mobile sales teams the same advantages as an office based sales team.
As you may be able to tell we’re really excited to be working with SlideShark – watch this space for more news very soon!
Tags: Apple, Eyeful Partners, iPad, PowerPoint, Presentation Technology, Presentation Tools, Sales, Slideshark
Posted in General information, PowerPoint, Presentation Design, Presentation Technology, Sales Presentation | No Comments »
