Wireless Control for Presentations?

Bifurcati asks: "I recently bought a Bluetooth enabled Powerbook G4 laptop, which comes with a trackpad. I often give Powerpoint presentations, so I'm interested in getting a wireless controller, to flip back and forward through slides without touching the laptop. Google turns up many options, e.g., Honeywell's, Beamplus and this doohickey. Another option is a combined mouse-controller, throwing an external mouse into the bargain. There are wireless mice (e.g., Logitech's) which need a USB plug-in, but are short range. Or there are Bluetooth mice, like the X-Wing, which are neat and have a 10m range, but seem to be a pain with battery life/charging. Another option is Logitech's Bluetooth Presenter, which is a mouse, PP controller and laserpointer in one (but costs $200!). So many choices! So I'm turning to good old Slashdot. All of you presenters out there, do have favourite remote control devices? What are your experiences with using them? What type of connectivity is the best (wireless, Bluetooth, something else?!) And what about devices that double as an external mouse, or even as a controller for movies, iTunes, etc?"

Comments

wireless controller

[atomic-penguin]

I once saw someone give a presentation with a gyromouse. I checked out their prices, approximately $150 for some models. Kind of pricey, and probably not needed, unless you need to have cursor interaction with your slides. They are so cool though.

Use your bluetooth phone or pda as a remote

[phildog]

Salling Clicker might do the trick.

Disclaimer: I've never tried this software as I don't have a mac.

What, you bought that shiny G4 and don't have $ left over for a BT phone/pda? Cry elsewhere you insensitive clod :-)

Re:Use your bluetooth phone or pda as a remote

[-=[Dr. AJAX]=-]

Invest in a PDA or phone that has built in bluetooth and use Clicker. From personal experience, it is the best. I have the Sony Ericsson Z600. Not only can I control keynote or powerpoint via the phone, but the notes portion of each slide shows up in the display of the phone. An added bonus is the ability to sync the phone and my powerbook. Clicker does have many other features, though. I have yet to use the proximity controls, but the first time that an incoming call on my cell phone muted iTunes and brought up the caller id information I just about... well.. erhem... I'll leave this clean....

Re:Use your bluetooth phone or pda as a remote

[gooru]

I have used this software, and it's absolutely perfect. I usually use it with PowerPoint, though it works with Keynote as well. I have a Sony Ericsson T610 hooked up via Bluetooth to my PowerBook G4, which I use for presentations all the time. Even technical audiences are wowed by it, and it frees you from standing behind a podium or walking back to change slides. My only gripe is that Bluetooth's range isn't quite as good as the specs say, but as long as you're within a few feet of your laptop, you should be fine. While the software isn't free, it's extremely inexpensive, and you can use it for other things such as controlling iTunes.

Cell phone

[Anonymous Coward]

Use your cell phone if it has bluetooth.. Sony Ericsson T610/T630 works great. FMA is nice if using Windows. In Linux there are a few programs that let you control your mouse with the arrows on the cell phone. If any of those don't suit you it's very easy to cook up your own software!

what NOT to do....

[TreeHead]

;whatever you do, don't use a *wired* solution.

;i'm responsible for technology at a small college and we work on a tight budget (to say the least). i thought i'd save some money by implementing wired presenter mice with extension cables. now granted, these were the PS/2 variety--which you wouldn't use with a mac--but the wired mice get disconnected from the multimedia computers all the time, and its only a matter of time before the cords all short-out from abuse. the biggest issue w/ wires is the nightmare of someone (yourself included) snagging their foot on the cord as they pass by and yanking the entire laptop to the floor.

;do yourself a favor and stick with wireless. it's actually not more expensive in the long run. if i could go back and spend $150-200 per unit on a wireless solution, i would. it would have saved me (and our instructors) time, energy, headaches, and money (as i will now have to replace the ones we have) that we spent on the wired mice.

;TreeHead

Use a friend.

[keoghp]

Personally, I use a friend.
Faster response time, Batteries don't go down on you! and cheap to run (a beer or two).

Has the added advantage that if the audience doesn't turn up, you have someone to talk to.

Keyspan Media Remote

[Urgoll]

The Keyspan Digital Media Remote is a small IR controller. It comes with a base that connects to the PC or Mac using USB. It has keys for play, stop, rewind, forward, next, previous, etc. I've tested it with PowerPoint and various media programs, and it works at least as far away as 25'. And cheap to boot, I got mine for $35 at the local computer store. More info.http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/remote/

Don't use infrared; Keyspan wireless works well.

[Mordant]

Infrared generally requires line-of-sight, and you don't want to have to turn around and point your clicker at your laptop when in the mist of a presentation.

I've had great luck with the Keyspan Presentation Remote - it has a little USB wireless dongle which attaches to my PowerBook, and it works well with PowerPoint & Keynote.

It looks like a USB mouse to the system, so no additional drivers are required; it provides mouse-type functionality, so you can do remote demos, etc. I haven't tried it on Windows or Linux, but I'm pretty sure it would work in Windows with no drivers and in Linux if you have your XF86Config file set up properly (this should be tested, though).

ATI Remote Wonder

[weffey]

Personally I use the ATI Remote Wonder [www.ATI.com]. Primarily meant as a remote for their TV tunners, but has media support none the less. The receiver plugs into the USB port and the transmissions are all done via RF, so no need to worry about line of sight.

I like the fact it has a direction pad for controlling the mouse and the media playback buttons, and four programmable buttons. There are plugins available for PowerPoint and WinAmp, personally I don't have them installed but the device still works fine. The fact I can be in the kitchen making dinner, changing the tunes on my PC on another level of the house is always nice too.

I got mine to use with my TV card about 8 months ago, and it's still on the original batteries that came in the box.

Projector with a remote?

[gabe]

Some projectors come with a remote control that sends next slide / previous slide commands to the computer via a USB cable from the projector. This results in Page Up / Page Down occurring on the computer, which changes the slide. Not exactly universal, but it is an option.

Targus Notebook Wireless Presenter

[UID1000000]

Bifurcati, I would suggest the Targus Notebook Wireless Presenter. It retails at 49.99 but I've seen it online for as low as 41.

It works via USB and uses RF to control the mouse. It basically subs as a mouse and you can program the buttons to do different commands.

I like laser pointer that it comes with too.

I've used this before, it works nicely and I've liked Targus for their notebook companion items a lot. If you have warranty issues they'll take care of it right away.
Let me know what you think of it.