Sep
Google Adds Presentations to Google Docs
I’ve been using Google Docs for sometime now and am growing to love it more and more each day. Being able to have access to important word-processing and spreadsheet files from any computer has been a life-saver on many occasions. I am also finding it extremely useful when combined with my iPhone (although this is a read-only affair at present).
So what types of things do I use Google Docs for? Well, I store all my software registrations in a spreadsheet for quick sorting and viewing, I have all my course syllabi in documents that are shared with my students (any changes I make are immediately made available to my students), we have a shared budget in spreadsheets that we both can access to view and edit, as well as numerous work-related documents such as budgets, memorandums, letters and varous lists.
Today, Google added another tool, Presentations. This app is basically the online equivalent of PowerPoint/Keynote. There are other online presentation apps out there, sPresent being one of the best, but I am excited about having Presentations within Google docs as part of a full suite of productivity apps. So how does Google Docs presentations stack up against the PowerPoint/Keynote powerhouses? Let’s just say, Presentations is a new product and like any new product it is pretty devoid of many visual features. As it matures, I’m sure we’ll see many additional features added. But as I’ll explain later, do we really need them? Anyway, here’s a break down in GUOM style:
Why it’s worth your minute:
- FREE!
- Access to your presentations from any Internet enabled computer
- Sharing a presentation online-you can invite others to view the presentation online-great for teleconferences
- Upload your PowerPoint/Keynote presentations for sharing online (a strong feature that I need to explore in more depth)
- Integrates well with the other Google apps
- Collaboration tools
- Display your presentations using a web browser
Why it may not be worth your minute:
- While you can upload a PowerPoint file, you cannot export a presentation you created
- Very few themes and the ones available are pretty bad
- No transitions or animation capabilities (yet)
All in all Google Presentations is a very rudimentary application, just like it’s siblings. But let’s face it, that’s the point. These tools provide you with just the basics you need to get the job done at a price you can’t argue with. And when you get down to it, being able to show a presentation online and collaborate on the development of a presentation is far more valuable than a bunch of flashy transitions and animations. It’s the content that keeps the audience interested. If you ain’t got that, you ain’t got a good presentation.
So what are your thoughts about the new Google Presentation app? Let us know and share with us your ideas for how you could make use of this new feature.
Check out our demo presentation.
Blogged with Flock
Tags: google, documents, google docs, presentation,
