Online presentations software company Brainshark has announced SlideShark, a new app that enables iPads to play PowerPoint presentations. 

The free SlideShark app preserves animations, fonts, graphics and colours in PowerPoint presentations, and allows users to swipe or tap to move to the next slide. The app also supports projections from the iPad using a TV or VGA projector. Users can also download presentations and play them locally on the device, without being connected to the internet to play back. 

"The iPad is supporting business mobility like never before," says Brainshark CEO Joe Gustafson. "At the same time, and as the mobile workforce continues to grow, the need to present PowerPoints on the iPad is becoming more critical. We're pleased to offer the SlideShark app to resolve this issue - allowing mobile sales, marketing and training professionals to present their business content both reliably and effectively, and helping companies maximise productivity." 

To use the app, users have to upload their PowerPoint files to an online SlideShark account, which can be set up for free. The files are converted for iPad on the site - and the user then downloads the file to play on the iPad.