The software supports most, but not all, PowerPoint animations, charts, and transitions. I created a selection of sample presentations and in each, found an element or two missing in the transfer from laptop to BlackBerry. This was even more so when I created files using Office 2010. This can become a pain, and creates a learning curve for creating files that avoid choices and selections that will result in empty spaces and gaps in slides. Sometimes, especially with last-minute edits, you simply won't have that time.

As noted, the slideshow is controlled with your BlackBerry, by swiping the trackball/pad or touch-screen to scroll forwards and backwards. This is easy enough, but other features are stored as menu options, making them a bit trickier to access on-the-fly, like pausing the screen, making the display go blank, adding presenter's notes to the mobile screen, and setting the presentation to loop at timed intervals. There is one glitch that I've come across: once a presentation is set to loop, "End Show" must be selected to stop it. Anything else will cause the Presenter to loop endlessly until you pull the plug and force a re-boot.

The Presenter itself doesn't communicate much. An LED light surrounds the power button, with different colours that flash to indicate status: red for power, blue for connections, and purple if something goes wrong. The only thing the unit displays is its passkey for Bluetooth pairing, both on the big screen and broadcasted as part of its device identification when in discoverable mode. This means anyone can pair with it if they wish; a choice that's more about convenience than security, I suppose.

Yes, the BlackBerry Presenter works. It can deliver basic PowerPoint presentations with dynamic flair, and, more important, allows for leaving the heavy laptop at home. This means you can show up feeling lighter, suit unruffled, and take a speaking stance that allows you to move about the floor and be intimate with audience. But as a product, it has all the signs of a "first" design. It delivers a proof of concept without the much-needed polish.

What I'd like to see is a model that supports multimedia content, basic photo slideshows, and the option to pre-load files into memory before reaching a venue. I'd like to see software that offers easier wireless controls, and a system where the slides on the BlackBerry match the ones created on a computer. When RIM can close those gaps, the BlackBerry Presenter will become a speaker's best friend.

Article Tags:  blackberry, presenter, slides, files, device, powerpoint, presentations, screen, means, created, presentation, software, power, supports, system, display, option, wireless, speaker, intimate, audience, photo, basic, allows, curve, slideshows, laptop, itse