Our best guess was that the Keynote Remote app running on an iPhone would be a solution. The app lets you view your slides (current and upcoming) and gives you access to your presenter’s notes in your hand. Not a bad way to control your slides. Again, it was just a guess.

Lo, and behold, we learn that the Keynote Remote app webpage was updated today. Nothing directly on point in the discussion , but the title bar has been changed to reference to the iPad. See it here:

Many thanks to Finis Price (a MILO Chat host) to pointing this out and following up on our discussion.

The announcement, if it’s true & real, is an interesting development because it raises a number of issues (which we discussed in the podcast.). Namely, how will the iPhone, running the Keynote app, connect to the iPad? You know, assuming it can.

Given the hardware, there are two potential ways of connecting these two devices – wifi or Bluetooth. I don’t think either is the front runner given some of the limitations discussed below – mostly that enabling either exposes big holes that Apple tends to want to keep shut.

Unfortunately, the app’s current use doesn’t give us a lot of hints. If you use the Keynote Remote app, you have to have your Macbook or Macbook Pro create an ad-hoc wifi network. You can do this whether or not you are actually connected to the Internet. (Although, one of the benefits of doing so with an Internet connection is that you can share that connection with other devices on the network.)

BUT, there’s been no announcement that suggests the iPad will be able to create an ad hoc wifi network. Of course, that raises the question of what happens if creating an ad hoc wi-fi network is the method of connecting the two – can you share your 3G service on the iPad? Will Apple open up creating a wi-fi network with your iPad?

The second way, Bluetooth, is not much better. There are a number of Bluetooth protocols stacks in the world. If I took you through all of them, you’d be bored and overeducated. For now, though, suffice it to say that Apple has not enabled any stack that would permit you to control slides and transmit video information (like your next slide or presenter’s notes). Officially, the iPhone only supports wireless earpieces and stereo headphones. Unofficially, the hardware can support OBEX (object file transfer) protocol.

The problem with turning that on “officially” is that Apple is going to create a way to get files on and off the iPhone without using iTunes, including applications and it can create all kinds of holes that cause problems later.

Okay, you’ve come this far. I owe it to you to give you the simplest explanation, which is that the reference at the top of the title bar is probably just to let you know that you can load the Keynote Remote app onto your iPad and control Keynote on a Macbook Pro with that little Wifi-trick I mentioned above. But, what if…what if?

Regardless, you can be sure there will be lots of iPad discussion at the next MILOfest in November – and If it works out, this iPhone-to-iPad-to-Projector is definitely going to be my set-up.

Posted by Victor Medina
MacLovin’ JD

Regardless, I’m looking forward to the iPad as a tool to write more blog posts. To that end, I’m testing a program for the iPhone OS called BlogWriter.

In fact, this entire post has been written with the free version of the program on my iPhone. (The free version only allows you to connect to one blog, but if you don’t mind entering the login information each time, arguably you could use it to post to other blogs.)

The program is not terrible. Of course, it can’t drop in photos or other media. Surprised to learn that it doesn’t support landscape mode – at least not in the free flavor.

Categories get imported with the blog setup, but there is no chance to set the tags for SEO purposes.

You also don’t get the option to set the post date or save as a draft for later editing on a more robust blog post editor, like MarsEdit or Blogo. Speaking of draft status, you better like what you’ve written because there is no way to save a draft on the program itself.

Otherwise it’s a decent and clean interface for writing a quick post. I’m notbsure, though, that I’d want to use this as my primary blog post creator on mobile platform. Let it be known that i’ve been saving my iTunes credits for iPad programs, so developers…get cracking.

The AppStore is nearly unnavigable. Anyone have a suggestion for another iPhone OS program to try?

I am really enjoying the cat and mouse game that Apple and Palm are playing with the Pre’s ability to sync to iTunes. Forever, the iTunes advantage was that it sold a TON of Apple products (iPods, iPod Touch-es or iPhones), while at the same time selling a TON of Apple-sponsored content (music, movies, applications).

The little skirmish has me thinking about the impact of a crowded smartphone market. When iTunes was only the primary vehicle for iPods (and to the exclusion of other music players), everything was copacetic because the iPod dominated the music player market. The functionality of the iPod far exceeded even the closest competitor, so the delivery device mattered less than the fact that something connected to the best player on the market to its content.

The smartphone market is a little different. In the smartphone market, there are compromises everywhere. Physical keyboard or not, AT&T or not, and the list goes on. Plus, the cellphone/smartphone market is so huge, it’s really going to be difficult to own it all – if you’re Apple. Unlike the music player market, the smartphone market has been pretty well-established for a while before Apple entered the market. Plus, the world of cellphone contracts means that it is difficult to capture the market by inspiration. There is always that pesky cancelation penalty hanging around.

I guess what I’m saying is that I wonder why Apple just doesn’t give up this fight. Palm Pre-ses syncing with iTunes just means selling more music and/or movies. It means more people being introduced to the beauty of Apple design (and perhaps moving to iPhones when the time is right) and potentially more Mac sales.

By the way, as I was writing this post, I saw an ad for AT&T wireless. Lots of phones being displayed. The one phone not displayed at all? The best selling phone, of course – the iPhone.