The just released Satechi Aluminum Wireless Presenter is a beautifully designed red LED laser pointer combined with slide navigation buttons, all wrapped in Bluetooth and a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. It's available in the matching Apple colors of Silver, Space Gray or Gold.
Satechi Aluminum Wireless Presenter
The Laser
This is red LED laser with a wavelength of of about 640 to 660 nanometers. It's a Class 2 laser emitting less than 1 milliwatt. The definition of Class 2 is: "Class 2 lasers emit radiation in the visible portion of the spectrum, and protection is normally afforded by the normal human aversion response (blink reflex) to bright radiant sources. They may be hazardous if viewed directly for extended periods of time. Example: laser pointers."
The divergence of the beam is what one would expect from a device this inexpensive. That is, suitable for presentations up to about 10 meters. But it's not perfect. See the photo below.
Distance: 9.1 meters. Marks are 2.5 cm (1 inch) apart.
Slide Navigation
There are just two buttons on the side for forward and backward slide navigation. The range is the standard Bluetooth distance of 10 meters (33 feet). Compatibility is with iPhones back to 3GS, all iPads, MacBooks and all other Apple Bluetooth-enabled products and PCs.
Physical Characteristics
- Available in Space Gray, Silver or Gold on one half. Black on the other.
- Weight: 58.3 grams (2.05 ounces)
- Length: 13.5 cm (5.3 inches)
- MicroUSB port for charging.
- The black portion (front) is nicely grippy. The rear is smooth aluminum, but still affords a good grip. There is no auto-time-out, so one must turn it off when done using.
Battery
The battery is Lithium-Ion with a 600 mAh capacity. Satechi says the battery life depends, of course on use. (I haven't had time to test it to depletion.) The standby time is stated as 6 months, and the battery itself is rated for 1,000 charge cycles.
The small pamphlet that accompanies is vague about the LED charge indicator light, and I had to ask. When connected to a USB charging source, the sense of the lights is the opposite of what one would think. A steady blue means "charging". A steady red means "Charging complete – device can be disconnected." That can be confusing when first connected, out of the box.
The input is 5V, DC.
Peripherals
A black, soft cloth zippered bag is included, and there's just enough room to fit the 20 cm (8 inch) charging cable (included) inside and zip it all up.
Warranty, Manual and Packaging
The warranty is one year. The outside of the box explains the features, compatibility, the battery type, connectivity, warranty and includes Satechi's phone number and email. The small, eight panel User Manual (pamphlet) explains the controls fairly well (except for the sense of the charging light) and how to Bluetooth pair it with Windows (7,8,8.1, and 10) PCs, Macs (OS X 10.4 or later), or iOS 5 or later devices. It's compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple's Keynote on an iPad or iPhone.
Detail of buttons. Shown in Space Gray and black
Observations
I had a class to teach last weekend and used this product with my iPad Pro and Apple's Keynote. It paired with my iPad immediately the day before and stayed paired in the next day's presentation with no hassle.
No doubt the diameter is dictated by the internal electronics and battery, but I found its size, grip and heft pleasant, However, the flush buttons on the side won't keep it from rolling on a desk. That said, one side seems more weighted than the other, and it naturally resists rolling. A blue LED near the front alerts the user that the beam is on, just in case.
All in all, I liked this device a lot. It's simple and easy to use, well built, good looking and nicely priced. If you do a lot of presentations, it's well worth the money.