TapNext joins the crowd of presentation apps by giving you a remote control for PowerPoint, Apple’s Keynote or OpenOffice.org Impress.

TapNext is nothing to shout about in terms of design, but this iPhone app gets the job done. It takes a few steps to get working, but they are pretty user friendly. For a PC or Mac download and install the software from the developer’s site. The easiest way to connect is if your iPhone and computer are sharing the same Wi-Fi network. If so, they will sync automatically. If not, it is still pretty easy to get connected. The desktop software generates a key that you enter into the TapNext app and then you are off and ready to present.

One thing to keep in mind — when testing it out the TapNext software did not play nice with Windows 7. It worked just fine on XP. Probably not a big issue right now as Windows 7 is till in Beta, but when it becomes available for release in late October the developer will probably want to make sure this is not an issue. Also Mac users can opt for the free TapNext Lite, which only works with Keynote. Windows users get the shaft — you need to pay for the full version to work with PowerPoint or OpenOffice.

Once the presentation is synced it works very well. There are buttons for beginning and ending the slide show, as well as moving from one slide to another (you can also go back to a previous slide). A timer is included at the top of the screen if you want to keep an eye on how long you are speaking.  There is also an alarm option if you want your iPhone to rattle you when it is time to stop talking. Also included is a voice recorder with playback – although not sure why. It does work, though.

If you give a lot of presentations and want this functionality then TapNext may be a great buy if you operate outside of the Mac universe. If you are pretty Mac-centric, then go for the free version, TapNext Lite.

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category: Business, Editor's Picks, Remote Desktop