Mobile & Tablet

How to Give a Great Presentation With Just Your Phone

By Farshad Iqbal

Posted on 3rd November 2016

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Mobile devices are becoming increasingly capable of doing more than offering the means for checking emails, sending text messages, and playing frivolous games. And of course, they can also be used to make calls! There are a plethora of apps and methods that can be used for creating, editing and presenting presentations using smart devices.

Previously, we presented a few of those options in our post about the best presentation apps for Android. This time we will provide you with a comprehensive guide regarding how you can use smart devices like smartphones, tablets and phablets to present your presentations.

The methods mentioned in this post can be used for presenting a slide deck made in PowerPoint, or a web app like Google Slides or Slide Magic. Many of the below mentioned methods can also be used for displaying photos, documents, spreadsheets and video presentations on a projector, monitor or computer screen using an Android or iOS device.

Choosing Between Wireless & Wired Connectivity

Before we proceed to the ‘how’, it’s worth pointing out that you should pick out the wireless and/or wired options for presenting your presentations according to the capability of the available hardware. For example, you might opt for HDMI or VGA connectivity, an app that lets you wirelessly connect to a monitor, a default mirroring feature in a projector or SmartTV, etc.

While wireless connectivity might seem like a convenient option, you must consider the available devices at the venue, as well as the capability of your smart device. While iOS devices tend to be more uniform, Android devices are a dime a dozen. This makes the latter unpredictable.

Moreover, different projectors and monitors have different connectivity options which you must account for, therefore, the first thing you must do is to be make sure what hardware is available for presenting your presentation; including the devices available at the presentation venue, and the capability of your own smartphone, tablet or hybrid device.

Connecting & Mirroring your Device on a Projector, TV or Monitor

There are perhaps more methods for connecting a smart device than we can list down. There are several apps and devices which can allow you to connect and mirror your smart device on a projector, TV or monitor screen. We have listed down some of the commonly used methods that you can use connecting and mirroring an Android or iOS device.

Android

Android devices tend to be quite unpredictable. There are so many companies manufacturing Android devices globally that it is likely you haven’t heard of a few dozen of them! This also means that different Android devices have very different capabilities, and many don’t support various methods and apps for wired or wireless mirroring. Here are a few common methods which should help you connect an Android device to a projector, TV or monitor screen.

Wired Connectivity

The most common method for connecting your Android device to a projector is by using MHL or HDMI. The connectivity options mentioned below may or may not be available for your smart device.

Mini-HDMI and HDMI to VGA Adapter

You can use a mini-HDMI cable to connect your smart device to a projector. In case the projector you are using does not have an HDMI cable, you might need an HDMI to VGA Adapter.

MHL

MHL is a technology used to connect mobile devices to monitors and TV screens. Provided your smartphone supports MHL, you can connect MHL to an HDMI adapter to connect to a projector. You can also use a Micro USB to VGA MHL Adapter to connect to multimedia devices.

Wireless Connectivity

Presenting a presentation wirelessly may have its pros and cons. You will require a reliable wireless connection, as any jitters caused by your wireless connection might result in unwanted disruptions. Here are a few reliable options that you can use to wirelessly present presentations via an Android smart device.

Chromecast

Using Chromecast, you can cast your Android device to a large screen. This method is best suited for quick connectivity to TV screens. There are many conference rooms which use TV screens instead of projectors. This makes it possible to use devices like Chromecast. With Chromecast you can mirror an Android smartphone or tablet to the big screen by using the Google Cast app. Here is a video which shows you how to cast your Android device to a TV screen.

Android Mirroring Apps

There are a number of apps which allow mirroring Android screen to a computer. You can connect your computer to a projector or monitor to present your presentations using apps like AirDroid or simply use apps like Allcast for mirroring an Android device to a SmartTV. Allcast supports a plethora of devices for casting photos and videos. Some of the devices supported by Allcast include; Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, WDTV, Roku, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs, DLNA Renderers, etc.

Here is a video which shows how to mirror your Android screen using Mirror Beta, Allcast and Google Chrome. [Video Courtesy: Learn Share]

Mirror Your Smart Device to a Smart TV

If you require connecting to a SmartTV for presenting a presentation, you can make use of various SmartTV apps. It is likely that the TV in use already has apps or a mechanism for certain supported devices. For example, Samsung’s SmartTV’s provide mirroring options for mirroring Android devices from various Galaxy smartphone models. Here is a video which shows you how to mirror an Android device to a SmarTV. [Video Courtesy: GizmoBeast]

Projector Apps for Android

There are a number of projectors which have their own apps which allow sending files to a wireless projector. For example, Panasonic provides the Wireless Projector app for Android and iOS devices which enables displaying images, PDF, PowerPoint, Word and Excel files via an Android device to a Panasonic projector. The app requires a Wi-Fi connection to display content from Android devices to a supported projector.

You can look for similar apps for the projector at the presentation venue via the Google Play Store or check out the projector company’s website to find apps provided for wireless connectivity using mobile devices and tablets.

Projector Phone

While this isn’t a very common method, however, you might find it quite convenient for impromptu presentations. A projector phone is a smartphone with a built-in projector. With a projector phone you can instantly display the content of your device by projecting it on a flat surface via built-in pico projector. Back in the day Samsung’s Galaxy Beam came with a built-in HD projector, which was later followed by Galaxy Beam 2. Lately, the Akyumen Hawk projector phones and tablets have been providing HD projectors in their smart devices.

iOS

Apple’s smart devices have the ideal hardware for wireless presentations. Moreover, they tend to be more uniform, as they aren’t manufactured by dozens of companies. There are various ways by which you can present a presentation using an iPhone or iPad device. Here are a few wired and wireless options that you can use for your slide decks and video presentations.

Wired Connectivity

There are only a handful of methods for wired connectivity for mirroring an iOS device and those too might require the use of an adapter.

HDMI and VGA

The most common method to connect an iOS device is to use a Digital AV or VGA adapter to connect your iPhone or iPad device to an HDMI or VGA cable connected to a projector, TV or computer. You can learn more about how to connect your iOS device to a projector, TV or computer via this Apple Support page.

The video below shows three methods for connecting your iPad device to a projector, including VGA, HDMI and via Apple TV. [Video Courtesy: Richard Hirstwood]

Document Camera

While this might not be the preferred option, however, you can use a document camera to display the content of your iOS device by connecting the camera to a projector.

Wireless Connectivity

Here are a few wireless connectivity options that you can use for mirroring your iOS device to a projector, TV or computer screen.

Airplay

You can use Airplay to play photos and videos from an iOS device to an Apple TV or AirPort Express. Airplay is one of the most common methods to wirelessly stream content from iOS devices, however, the limited number of devices supported for Airplay reduces its utility for presenters. You can see this guide from the Apple Support page to learn all about using Airplay for wirelessly streaming your content to supported devices.

Apple TV

You might want to reduce the hassle of using an adapter and VGA cable by simply opting for connectivity via Apple TV. Using Apple TV you can connect your iOS device using Airplay. You can see a detailed guide for connecting an Apple TV to a projector from the video given above, which shows connectivity via HDMI, VGA and Apple TV.

Projector Apps for iOS

Just like there are projector apps for Android, there are apps for iOS provided by different companies that manufacture a range of projectors. For example, Panasonic’s Wireless Projector app for iOS provides the utility to wirelessly display files to a supported Panasonic projector using an iOS device.

AirServer

AirServer is a software for mirroring your smart device to a PC, Mac or Xbox One. What’s great about AirServer is that it supports Mircast, Google Cast and AirPlay. AirServer is available for a number of platforms, including iOS and Android devices. Here is a video which provides an overview of AirServer. [Video Courtesy: Airserverapp]

Screen Mirroring Apps for iOS Devices

Mirroring360 is an app which allows wirelessly sharing an iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac or Windows screen. For iOS devices, you can install the Mirroring360 app on a Mac or PC and begin mirroring your iOS device using AirPlay. There are also other apps which provide a similar functionality such as; Reflector 2 and X-Mirage.

Here is a quick video which shows how you can use Mirroring360 to share your iOS screen during presentations and meetings. [Video Courtesy: SplashtopInc]

There are several methods that can be used for connecting your Android or iOS device to a projector, TV screen, monitor or computer to present presentations. We have covered some of the most commonly used methods, with some recommended apps and devices that can help you use a wireless or wired connection for presenting presentations and picture slideshows, video presentations and to conduct Live demos using smart devices. It is quite likely that there might be easier and more robust methods introduced for mirroring and streaming content from smart devices in the near future.

If you know of a good app, device or method for wirelessly presenting presentations using an Android or iOS device, do share your thoughts with us via our comments section.

If you liked this, you might also like

The Best Presentation Apps for iPhone and iPad

How to Present PowerPoint on iPads and iPhones

The Best Presentation Apps for Android

How to Control your Computer Using an Android Device – and it’s Free!

10 Essential Items for the Presenter On the Go

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Farshad Iqbal

Content Editor at FPPT.com

Farshad is a technology enthusiast and an IT professional from Pakistan. Over the years he has been associated with various technology blogs and is currently the Content Editor of FPPT.com.

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