Hidden functionality in Keynote for iPad
Keynote for iPad is one of Apple’s own office apps, available for a hefty $9.99 in the App Store. On the surface it’s a decent presentation app, but there’s actually quite a bit of functionality hidden beneath the surface. The first comes courtesy of the Apple AV adapter, and lets you use the iPad as a control device for the sideshow displayed on an external screen. When connected to an external display and in presentation mode, the iPad will show timer, slides, notes, next slide etc while the external screen will always show the current slide. If you add another iOS device and Apple’s Keynote Remote app to the mix ($0.99), you can leave you iPad connected to the screen in one end of the room and control the presentation wirelessly, including seeing notes etc. This second device will get somewhat redundant when AirPlay gets updated with iOS 5, but since I doubt many people will carry Apple TVs around to meeting rooms it still will have a function in life. It’s neat to see such advanced functionality built into the apps, and it really ups the usefulness of the iPad as a presentation device quite a bit.
