RIM Intros The BlackBerry Presenter – Make PowerPoint Presentations, No Laptop Needed! [News]

By Mauricio

RIM today introduced a new BlackBerry accessory called the BlackBerry Presenter, a device that plugs into a projector or monitor allowing you to make PowerPoint presentations with just your BlackBerry, without the need of a laptop!

“Mobile professionals are always looking to carry less when travelling,” said Glenn Laxdal, Vice President, Product Management, Research In Motion. “BlackBerry Presenter equips mobile professionals with a simple, secure and convenient way to deliver presentations directly from their BlackBerry smartphone, giving them the freedom to leave their laptops behind.”

The Presenter doesn’t only have to be for professionals, if you’re a student you can use it for class projects or if you want to do a slideshow for someone’s birthday roast with pics taken on your BlackBerry, you can do that too. Get the idea?

Features:

• Loop Mode: Set the time between slides and leave BlackBerry Presenter running as you deliver your presentation.
• Support for PowerPoint effects: Accurately show most of the slide animations and transitions from Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2003 and 2007.
• Freeze mode: Freeze a slide on-screen while you browse through the rest of your presentation on your smartphone.
• Bluetooth® connection: Roam up to 10m from your Presenter for a truly dynamic presentation.
• Single button operation: Use the button on top of your Presenter to put it to sleep, wake it up, or show a new presentation.
• Compatible with multiple video formats: Travel overseas or at home and present in NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) and PAL (Phase Alternating Line) formats.

The BlackBerry Presenter will be compatible with all devices running OS 4.6 or higher (except for Curve  or Pearl Flip) and will be available for $199.99. Once it’s in the BBRocks! Accessory Store I’ll let you know so you can get it at a discounted price! I might even give one away…

For more info visit blackberry.com/presenter or check out the press release after the jump.

Press Release

Delivering a PowerPoint Presentation? Leave the Laptop Behind

RIM Introduces BlackBerry Presenter

Waterloo, ON – Users can finally feel free to leave their laptop behind when going to deliver a presentation. Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced BlackBerry® Presenter, the latest accessory for BlackBerry® smartphones. BlackBerry Presenter is a conveniently small and light device that easily plugs into a projector or monitor, then lets the user display a Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation wirelessly from their BlackBerry smartphone.

“Mobile professionals are always looking to carry less when travelling,” said Glenn Laxdal, Vice President, Product Management, Research In Motion. “BlackBerry Presenter equips mobile professionals with a simple, secure and convenient way to deliver presentations directly from their BlackBerry smartphone, giving them the freedom to leave their laptops behind.”

BlackBerry Presenter gives users easy control of their presentations, allowing them to navigate their presentations, view speaker notes, loop presentation slides and even reference information on one slide while displaying another. Thanks to a wireless (Bluetooth®) connection between the BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry Presenter, users can also walk around freely while presenting (supports roaming up to 30 feet between the devices).

Specifications*

• Conveniently small and light — 3.4″ x 2.4″ x 0.9″ and 140g
• Video Formats Supported: NTSC, PAL
• Video Cable Support: S-Video, VGA
• Power Connection: Micro USB
• Display Resolution Support: 640×480 (VGA), 800×600 (SVGA), 1024×768 (XGA)
• Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR, Class 1.5
• Carrying Case: Synthetic Leather
• Support for most PowerPoint animations and transitions
• No additional file processing required – present files directly without having to pre-process the file on the PC
• Languages Supported: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish

Pricing and Availability

BlackBerry Presenter is being demonstrated by RIM at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week and will be available at a later date on ShopBlackBerry.com for $199. It will also be available at select authorized dealers and retail stores. To sign up for alerts on product availability, please visit www.shopblackberry.com/us/presenter.  For more information, please visit www.blackberry.com/presenter.

* Requires BlackBerry Device Software v4.6. Not available for BlackBerry Curve 8300 Series or BlackBerry Pearl Flip Series.