Kensington Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer and 2 GB Built-in Memory (Black)
by Kensington
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List Price: Our Price: $49.12 You Save: $25.87 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $36.13 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Kensington Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer and 2 GB Built-in Memory (Black)
Customer Review: Where's the On Button?
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The Kensington Wireless Presenter is a remote controller that stores PowerPoint presentations.
Here's my take on the Presenter:
PROS:
1. The case of the Presenter is matte finish, and I like that because it does not show fingerprints.
2. The Presenter is lightweight, adding only ounces to your travel gear rather than pounds.
3. The case is well-designed to fit perfectly in your hand, and the weight is pleasing while you hold it.
4. The four-button design makes this easy to manipulate, move back and forth among your slides, and point out specific features with the bright red laser pointer.
CONS:
1. The instruction booklet could hardly be worse. While it presents 11 languages, not a single language contains all instructions in a chunk. Instead, each paragraph (of only a few words) is presented in all 11 languages before the next paragraph. Would it be so difficult to put all the instructions in English together, all the instructions in French together, and so on?
Talk about user unfriendly - this one is a prime example of how not to write a users' manual.
And here's my biggest complaint:
2. Where's the on-off button? Turns out by digging through the "manual," you discover that you turn the Presenter off by inserting the thumb drive in the Presenter. By extrapolation, then removing the 1 GB thumb drive must turn the Presenter on. But you're left to figure this out for yourself. Wouldn't it have been easier to have an on-off switch for us non-techie types?
I'm using a single laptop for presentations, and all my powerpoints are stored on this computer. Having storage on a thumb drive would be useful when using a business setup with a different computer dedicated to that projector. For me, however, this is not a feature I'm likely to be using much.
Additional clarity in product description and users' manual would be helpful. I'd like to have understood more about this presenter before ordering it.
Three stars.
Customer Review: Exactly what I hoped for
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I own a Kensington 33374, the predecessor to this product and one of the most popular wireless presenters on Amazon. As I wrote in my 4-star review of that device back in March of this year: "One way that Kensington could make their next model more useful would be for the USB adapter to double as a thumbdrive. Since you'll be plugging it into the host computer anyway, why not put your presentation on it?"
My prayers were answered.
This model is practically identical to its predecessor; why mess with a good design? (The 33374 currently has 152 customer reviews averaging 4.5 stars.) It lacks the heft, chrome and fancy features of high-end presenter models--there are no programmable buttons, no mousing capability--but has all of the basics down pat: Just plug the tiny USB dongle into the computer you want to use (there are no drivers needed on any recent version of Windows or Mac OS X), then use the left and right arrows to flip from slide to slide and the top arrow to point a bright red laser point. (The lower button toggles blackout mode in PowerPoint, which is nice if you want to focus your audience's attention on something other than the slides for a moment.) It's simple, comfortable--and now it has 1GB of storage, enough for hundreds of ordinary PowerPoint presentations. The design is also slightly improved by replacing the distracting flash of metal around the controls with a high-contrast black color.
Any downsides? The price point is significantly higher, so you should think about whether the convenience of the built-in memory is worth it. One of the great features of the device is that the USB dongle slides right in when it's not in use. Some people keep a USB thumbdrive on them at all times. If you do, and if the computers you're going to be presenting on are sure to have 2 open USB ports, then you could save yourself a few bucks with the older model. But if you enjoy having everything in one single, simple package, then the premium is well worth it.
Customer Review: Portable PowerPoint-packing Pointer
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This product is ideal for anyone who needs to do PowerPoint presentations or slide shows on a regular basis and/or at short notice.
Pros:
1. Convenient size allows you to carry it with you all the time.
2. It comes with a 1GB flash drive so you can store and deliver that vital sales pitch at the drop of a hat.
3. If you're presenting at a venue that can provide a laptop and projector, you can stroll in with your arms swinging freely (and this presenter in your pocket)
4. The flash drive doubles as a wireless receiver, so you can control your presentation using the simple four button control panel, and from a distance of about 45 feet if necessary. (it promises 30 feet, but we got it to go much further)
5. You can flip forwards or backwards, or stop the presentation using the easy to access buttons.
6. The receiver/flash drive can be stored inside the presenter, and when in place it disables the laser pointer to avoid accidental "pointing" and therefore prolongs battery life.
7. Batteries (2 x AAA) are included, and of course are easily replaceable.
8. There's an indicator to tell you when your battery power is low, so you can avoid the embarrassment of your thingamajig conking out in the middle of a performance.
9. Of course, it's also a laser pointer, great for show and tell, and for shining on the face of anyone who falls asleep when you're presenting.
Cons:
1. It's not cheap
2. It looks cheap (sturdy yes, but its looks don't live up to the price tag).
3. There's no "WOW" factor when you whip it out.
4. Sometimes the internal switch gets stuck when you remove the receiver, and the pointer doesn't work. (Just push it in and take it out again)
Overall, the pros outweigh the cons, but unless you're using it on a regular basis and making a return on your investment, or unless you can get your company to pay for it for you, it's hard to justify the price tag for this gizmo.
Amanda Richards, September 18, 2009
Customer Review: I love this gadget
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This is more than a laser pointer-it actually gives the presentation. It comes with a 1G USB stick that holds the presentation. You put that into the computer and use the laser pointer not only to point, but to click through the presentation. You have the forward, previous and stop buttons, plus of course the laser button.
There is a tiny LED on the USB stick that lights up green when the batteries in your remote/pointer are good, and red when your batteries are running low. The company estimates that the Energizer alkaline batteries that come with the device should last about a year with normal use. Good-a low-power device. (The USB has to be in your computer for the light to work, in case you need to test the batteries before a presentation.)
By the way, I really like companies that include the batteries. I want to use the product right away when I receive it, and when the batteries are there and they're high quality, I really appreciate the extra step that saves me of having to go out to buy them.
To save the battery life, the pointer/remote can be turned off by removing the USB stick from the puter and storing it inside the pointer/remote. Removing the USB stick is just as easy-just press on the end of the USB stick and it pops out enough for you to remove it.
The pointer is ergonomically designed to fit well in your hand and it has a nice matte finish to it, too, which feels nice in your hand and doesn't show your fingerprints like shiny casings do. The bottom has a grippy rubberized surface to help prevent it from falling off the table when you set it down. Also, the remote is kind of heavy for its size which to me is a positive. I associate weight with durability, and the weight would also help prevent accidental drops, probably.
I just love this thing and plan to get a lot of use out of it.
Customer Review: Nice little product, but $75 seems a little high
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
First, the positives:
1) I like its chunky design, and the slightly rubberized feeling on the bottom and sides keeps it from being slippery. At frist it seemed a little too 'short' for my somewhat large hands, but it fit comfortably. I think the chunkiness of it compensates for it not being very long.
2) The red laser light is very visible (but then when aren't they?)
3) It worked well from a good 20 feet. It may do more but that's what I was able to test. Also, it doesn't require line-of-sight, which is good since you have to have the receiver in a usb port.
4) It installs and XP and Vista with no drivers needed.
5) The 1 gig of storage is nice as you could fit most Powerpoint presentations on it and thus not have to carry an extra thing.
6) I almost failed to notice: There's a little compartment into which you slide the receiver/flash drive. Unlike some laptop mice, it should be hard to lose the receiver.
7) The light that flashes green on the receiver when you use it flashes red when the batteries are low. I haven't had it long enough to run down batteries, but if this works it's a nice feature.
The negatives:
1) This won't fit into all hands.
2) It's *very* basic: forward, back and stop. That's it. That's fine for very straightforward presentations, but no more.
3) Price: When I first opened this and started using it, I was guessing that it might cost $40 on amazon. When I confirmed that it was RF rather than IR, I thought $50. But $75 seems high. It's great that you don't have to have an IR receiver, and the memory is a clever touch, but it just doesn't convince me at that price.
Conclusion: I'd wait and see if the price drops once it's been available for a while.
Dave