Slideshark App
I received an email from Brainshark today announcing they have developed a new app that will display PowerPoint (PPT) presentations on the iPad. After you sign up for a free account, you upload the PPT file to the Slideshark website and it converts it into a file that is viewable on the iPad. Slideshark is an alternative to saving a PPT file as a PDF, converting it to a Keynote file, or saving the slides as images.
Below is a description from the app description in iTunes:
With SlideShark you can view and show PowerPoint presentations on your iPad – the way they were meant to be seen. It’s easy to use, powerful, professional, and – best of all – free! SlideShark is the one and only app you can use to accurately and professionally show PowerPoint presentations on an iPad.
Key Features:
• Play PowerPoint files properly on your iPad
• Preserves animations, fonts, graphics, and colors
• Simply tap or swipe to advance animations and slides
• Connect to a TV or VGA-projector to present to larger audiences (iPad 2 users)
Limitations
You are limited to 25mb of storage space which is a very small amount in my opinion. You can purchase additional storage space if you need to keep presentations stored that exceed the 25mb of space. Slideshark indicates there are additional limitations when viewing PPT files using this app:
While the app is optimized for PowerPoint, there are a few features that are not currently supported. These include: hyperlinks on slides, embedded videos or animated gifs, slide transitions, triggers, and 3rd party components. There are also some advanced PowerPoint animations that may not be supported.
If you are looking for an alternative to Keynote to view PPT files on the iPad when speaking or presenting this may be just the thing you have been searching for. With the small amount of space available for uploaded presentations I am not sure how useful this app will be. The app is compatible with devices to project on a TV or screen and you do not need an internet connection to view the PPT file downloaded to the iPad. Feel free to leave a comment below with your opinion on this app once you have used the app.
Kim's Ventures in Educational Technology 
Hi Kim!
Thanks so much for posting about our app. We’re really excited to see the positive feedback from users and the press alike. For a limited time, we’ve increased the storage amount to 100MB. Based on usage, that seems to allow for a better enjoyment of the app. Our next focus is to target and eliminate some of those limitations that you referenced, as well as to add some really cool new functionality.
So, again, thank you and your readers for installing SlideShark. We’re always interested in feedback on our products, so feel free to use the Feedback button and get in touch.
David Klein
Product Director, Brainshark
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A great alternative to Brainshark is Knovio.
Knovio – just released publicly this week – makes it incredibly easy for anyone to create, edit, and share online video presentations in minutes. Here’s a link to the press release: http://yhoo.it/sazshl
It’s free to use – all you need is a PowerPoint deck, webcam, and Internet.
Check it out at http://knovio.com.
I hope you’ll give Knovio a spin, and share your impressions.
-Nat
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Quick note: All free accounts now start at 100MB.
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I do love this Power Point presentation option for my IPad but a little dissapointed that I can’t seem to get it to ‘loop’ continuously. Any suggestions?
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Hi Fred! Thanks for leaving a comment here – don’t forget that I am blogging at my new domain now of http://kimcaise.com. I haven’t used Slideshark much so I don’t recall how to set up a loop using the app. Any Slideshark users have the answer?
Best wishes,
Kim
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How do you exit from the program on an iPad? Can’t seem to close the program????
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Hi Gene! I haven’t used the program much but I press the Home button to exit if it locks up.
Kim
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Are there any remote control devices that work with Slide Shark other than iphone?
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Hi there and thanks for leaving a comment! I am sure there are tutorials if there is a way to use if offline. I know there is an iPad app – not sure about Android.
Kim
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I originally found Slideshark a useful way to present on the iPad; the highlighting, notes and timer features were better than Keynote, and the transitions were more reliable, even if that did involve uploading them to their website first.
However, they have recently imposed a 50 slide limit on presentations for the free account in addition to the overall mb limit, which makes it useless for me. I think that’s a very poor way to treat your users, and there is no way I am going to be persuaded into paying them for an upgrade when they take that approach
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