Slide tool gets new name, more features

About a year ago I wrote about a tool that lets you create and display a slide-based presentation in virtually any browser on any device [Slid.es for lightweight presentations]. No plugins are required and there’s nothing to download.

Slid.es recently left beta and became Slides.com. The company seems to be looking to extend its appeal beyond the world of web developers. See Introducing a new way to Present.

Slides.com added a bunch of functionality since our first look, including remote control and shared presentations. There are now more than enough features to make great presentations, but some folks will still find the tool set limited.

What does it do?

Here’s a sampling of features you currently get with a free account.

• Browser-based – edit and view in any modern browser.
• Mobile – edit or view on a smartphone or tablet.
• Touch – touch-optimized presentation.
• Style – themes and transitions
• Speaker view – with notes
• Remote control – from a mobile device
• Remote presentation – broadcast in real-time using a “live URL”
• Share – embed decks almost anywhere (not wordpress.com)
• Fork – use other people’s designs and layouts as templates.

New functionality is planned, including PDF import and incorporation of MathJax for symbols.

Is that all?

The company has to make money somehow, so they offer several “Pro” features for $6/month (no educational discount):

• Private Decks
• Secret links – to private decks.
• Present Offline – export presentations.
• Dropbox – sync an offline copy or backup recent changes
• Revision History – roll back anytime.
• Custom CSS

There is even a “For Teams” option ($12/month) for improved workflow. It includes a subdomain, custom branding and shared custom themes.

[Image credit – Kodachrome slides by Steven Kamenar]