Enterprise IT vendor Microsoft today announced the availability of an updated version of Office Remote in the Windows Phone Store.
Microsoft said Office Remote – which was launched in November 2013 — converts a Windows Phone 8 device into a presentation-management tool. Users can use it to interact with Office on their PCs, enabling them to control Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from across a room.
“Presenters are free to walk freely while talking. They can start PowerPoint, advance slides, see speaker notes, and deploy an on-screen laser pointer. They can navigate between Excel worksheets and graphs or scroll through a Word document or jump to specific sections within the doc,” said Van Hoof, group program manager for Office, in a blog post.
Microsoft added a large thumbnail of the slide currently presented, as well as a smaller preview of your next slide without impacting your notes.
In addition, users can get an instant laser pointer simply by the touch of a finger. Users can play and pause embedded videos from Office Remote.
Darren Edge, a Beijing-based researcher who worked with his Office colleagues on both the original Office Remote release and the update, said: “The new version of Office Remote gives presenters better feedback at a glance and more control at their fingertips.”
The update enables users to see a thumbnail image of the current slide, reducing the need to look back at the projected slide or to walk back to the presentation PC. The same thumbnail image also provides a direct way to focus the audience’s attention.
Microsoft also provides a preview of the next slide in the updated version of Office Remote. This means you will not be surprised to see content of the next slide. You can always make connecting comments that help the audience follow the flow of the presentation.
The IT vendor added playback controls to slides with embedded videos. This lets you synchronize your video playback with your speech in a way that makes your delivery feel seamless.
