Tablet presentations

Controlling presentations with intuitive gestures and multiple touch ought to make presenting more natural and relaxed. But are the new touchscreen tablets a breakthrough in presentation technology, or an interesting diversion? Apple, Microsoft and Google have each come up with their own solution and, not surprisingly, seem to have widely differing opinions on what we all need.

Here I look at their offerings and try to make sense of it all. What's here is based on my own experience and opinions; I've no axe to grind, so by all means let me know if your own experience differs.

No one can deny that Apple has style. Everything they make is slick, sexy and iconic. It's also idiosyncratic and often restrictive in what it'll allow you to do. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

The iPad grew from the iPod and iPhone, so processor power was a seriously limiting factor in its first incarnation; essentially it was just a big phone. The iPad 2 does a lot to resolve that; the dual-core processor gives it the grunt the first model lacked, and the HD screen is beautifully sharp and crisp.

The touch control feels smoother and more satisfying than any other tablets I've tried, and of course you have access to the millions of utilities on the App Store.

As a 'thing', it's just lovely.

Keynote Appearance

Keynote, Apple's own presentation software, has earned a well-deserved reputation. Unsurprisingly, it's very slick and easy to use. But unfortunately it's not all good news. The implementation of Keynote available to iPad users has been cut down severely from the Mac version. So there are no custom fonts, no custom master slide layouts, no presenter notes, and several other limitations.

When sharing presentations between Mac and iPad, these irritations become significant problems. What you built on your desktop machine is unlikely to be what you see on your tablet. Graphs change, picture aspect ratios shift, text flow alters, and all your custom design work is just dumped, along with any presenter notes you'd included.

Gone in a Flash

Apple still don't seem to be able (willing?) to come to any agreement with Adobe, so iPad has no support whatsoever for Flash content. So if your existing presentations have been produced in Flash, or even contain Flash content, they just won't work. At all.

iPad Plus and Minus Points

Good Points	Bad Points
Large, HD screen (iPad 2)	Incomplete implementation of Keynote
Apple Keynote presentation software available	Seriously flawed import/export to and from Mac version of Keynote
Very slick and nice to use	No support for Adobe Flash
Access to App Store	Storage can't be upgraded

Google's Android operating system has proved itself in its mobile phone implementation, so Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy have to be taken very seriously.

Because Google, like Microsoft, provide only the operating system and leave the hardware to the manufacturers, the Android world is far less insular than that of Apple. But at time of writing, the bank of Apps for Android is counted in thousands, rather than the millions boasted by Apple. And one major omission is a dedicated presentation application, of which more in a moment.

The most worrying problem with Android is the diversity of versions that manufacturers have chosen. At time of writing the latest version is 3.1, known as Honeycomb (All Android versions are named after a dessert, and are in alphabetical order), but not all Android tablets come loaded with this, or can even run it. This means that one tablet's capabilities can differ significantly from another's. You should check which version is implemented - and what future upgrade capability is available - before purchasing.

Android uses an up-to-date Flash player, so Flash content isn't a problem.

Multi-touch (for example pinching to scale) is available on most Android tablets, though the Nexus One and Motorola Droid initially shipped without it.

Android's only tip-of-the-hat to us presenters comes in the form of Scatterslides. It's a great app, but it doesn't really qualify as presentation software; it's intended rather to allow the tablet to be used to wirelessly control a PowerPoint presentation on another computer. So your high-capability Android becomes little more than a high-priced remote control. It's possible to show your PowerPoint slides on the Android screen, but you're limited to a static, flat-screen presentation, so don't expect to blow any socks off!

Android Plus and Minus Points

Good Points	Bad Points
Often cheaper than iPad 2	Variable implementation between manufacturers
Powerful processors available	Not as slick to use as iPad 2
Expandable storage	No fully-featured presentation software
Good pool of apps (though smaller than Apple)
Can run Flash applications
Can (with limitations) display PowerPoint presentations

Microsoft's jury still seems to be out on the tablet question. Their Windows Mobile OS seems (thankfully) have expired, but rather than bring a purpose-built operating system to market, they've opted to stick to their trusted Windows 7 guns. It's easy to see the logic: after the shambles of Vista, Windows 7 has silenced all but the most vehement of GatesHaters, and Windows has the world's largest bank of software.

But there's more to this than meets the eye. Windows 7 was built for today's high-powered PCs, not a small 1GHz processor. And it was designed for a mouse and keyboard, on a nice big screen, not fat fingers on a Ryvita. Microsoft aren't standing still on this, and the interface is improving all the time, but we're not there yet.

Windows tablets tend to be a little bulkier than the Apple or Android alternatives, largely due to the bigger battery needed to drive that big processor.

But for me the deciding factor has to be the software - and there Windows trounces all comers. In general, if it runs on your PC, it'll work on your tablet.

Pinches and Gestures

While Windows 7 tablets support multi-touch and gestures, most of the software available doesn't. PowerPoint presentations work fine, but you won't be able to swipe slides around the screen the way you would on the iPad running Keynote. As you might guess, though, we've been doing some work in this area and I'm happy to say that my Configurative presentation system lets you multi-touch, pinch, wave, or make any rude gesture you fancy!

Windows Tablet Plus and Minus Points

Good Points	Bad Points
Familiar user interface	Usually bulkier than Android or iPad
Runs the same applications as your desktop or laptop	Battery life can be shorter
Expandable storage	Interface not fully adapted to touch control
Can run Flash, PowerPoint, or pretty much anything else	Not quite as slick to operate as iPad
Full gesture and multi-touch control when running Configurative presentations

If nothing else is clear, it's plain to see that the tablet market needs to mature before a stable, completely finished winner emerges. Unless you're absolutely committed to taking the tablets, my advice would be to wait a little while - your laptop's not that bad, is it?

But if waiting isn't an option, my clear winner would be the Windows 7 route. It's not a perfect solution, but using the interface is nowhere near the nightmare many of the geek reviewers would have you believe. And we can be certain that Microsoft will continue to improve it.

The telling factor for me is the software bank. It's already in existence, and you're already using most of it. I love the iPad, and Android has lots to recommend it, but if the head rules the heart, it's got to be Windows.