Office Remote app will let your Windows Phone control presentations

Microsoft has taken the covers off the Office Remote, an app that lets you control Microsoft Office right from a Windows Phone. Essentially, it will act as a remote control, which could prove to be useful when you have presentations to make.

The app is a Windows Phone 8 exclusive and the result of collaboration between Microsoft Research and Microsoft Office engineering teams. You will be able to control Microsoft Word, Excel and, most importantly, PowerPoint with the app. It will work not just with Microsoft Office, but also Office 365.

Presentations just became easier…if you have a Windows Phone

The Office Remote app works with all versions of the Office 2013, except Office 2013 RT. Besides the app and the Office suite, all you need for the presentation to be up and running is a Bluetooth-enabled PC and a desktop add-in for Office Remote on your PC. The app itself will feature large, accessible buttons and require you to use simple gestures to run between slides and sheets.

You will be able to zoom in on Word documents, view thumbnails on PowerPoint and even have an on-screen laser pointer with the Office Remote app. It will let you view your speaker notes, control data slicers and scroll through Word docs right from your phone. “We want to make sure that we continue to create tools that deliver the best possible experiences to presenters and audiences,” says Darren Edge of Microsoft Research. “It is quite amazing how many people all over the world rely on PowerPoint to add memorable, visual impact to their presentations—and how many of these presentations are delivered in meeting rooms, classrooms, ballrooms and boardrooms every day."

The Office Remote application is already available in the Windows Phone Store and you can also download the desktop add-on for Office Remote.