Amherst, Massachusetts – You control the time! Gone are the days of holding up fingers or minutes-remaining signs for the presenter to notice. Gone are the days of interrupting speakers to tell them that they are out of time. Midnight Oil Enterprises, LLC has released Presentime Synchronized Presentation Timer 1.4 for iOS, an update to their remotely controllable countdown clock for speakers and performers. Presentime is an easy-to-use presentation timer app with a unique difference. In addition to operating as a stand-alone timer, Presentime can be used as a broadcasting Master Timer or synchronized with a Master Timer. The Presentime app uses iOS 7’s Multipeer Connectivity for direct device-to-device interaction, so a device at the podium can be adjusted on the fly by a moderator or colleague in the audience. A quick glance at the Presentime app from time to time is all that is needed to adapt to the time remaining.

The 1,4 update makes Presentime even easier and more intuitive to use, the timer digits more visible from a distance, and adds some new overrun-notification options. “We worked hard on the original design for Presentime to create the most useful, easiest to set and adjust, and intuitively natural stand-alone presentation timer that we could imagine, and then we added multiple-device synchronization to it,” says Midnight Oil Enterprises co-founder Dan Corkill. “We incorporated a number of context-based prompts, available actions, and subtle visual feedback into the user experience to make operating Presentime quick, clear, and resistant to mistakes. For example, irreversible actions such as ending a timing session require longer, 1-second touches, so accidentally touching the screen isn’t an issue.”

“We have continued to refine our original Presentime design, guided by wonderful feedback and suggestions from our users. Visual changes and suggested new features had to come together seamlessly and without adding complexity or distractions to the user. As a result, the Presentime 1.4 update is significantly more substantial than we planned, but we’re thrilled with the results! I think Presentime 1.4 is the best speaker clock available anywhere – with or without remote control capabilities.”

Using Presentime is fast and easy:
To set the presentation time, simply touch the Set button and then slide your finger up and down on the time display, Time-remaining alert settings are adjusted by sliding the yellow, orange, and red alert marks left and right. Then touch the Start button to begin timing.

Once timing, the Start button changes to a Pause/Resume control. In addition, the allotted time can be adjusted up or down in thirty-second amounts by using the two time-adjustment buttons that appear in context. The total time added or removed is indicated below the countdown display. The time-remaining alert settings can also be adjusted during the presentation, if appropriate. As the time remaining drops below each alert setting, the display background changes color to alert the presenter. The alerts can be augmented with optional sound and, on iPhones, vibration.

Timing is stopped by touching the End button for one second, and preparing for the next presenter begins again by touching the Set button. Default allotted and alert-time values can be adjusted in the app’s Settings screen, so setting up the next in a series of equal length presentations requires touching only the Set and then the Start buttons.

Becoming a Master Timer:
Simply select Master Timer on the segmented mode control. That’s it, your device is now acting as a Master Timer. The displayed four-digit connection ID is used by other devices that want to synchronize with your device.

Synchronizing with a Master Timer:
Synchronizing devices is equally simple. All that is needed is to select Synched on the segmented mode control and then enter the four-digit connection ID of the Master Timer.

Synchronized, on-the-fly adjustment:
Meeting chairs or directors can pause the Master Timer if the presenter is interrupted and even adjust the time remaining on the fly, if appropriate. Changes made at the Master Timer device are reflected at all synchronized devices. Synchronization uses iOS 7’s Multipeer Connectivity framework, which enables direct device-to-device discovery and connection via WiFi or bluetooth without a network connection or bluetooth pairing. Direct synchronization is ideal for venues without internet access.

Major features:
* Three operating modes –
1) Stand-alone timer
2) Broadcasting Master Timer
3) Synchronized with a Master Timer
* Direct device-to-device discovery and synchronization via WiFi or bluetooth without a network connection or bluetooth pairing
* Adjustable yellow, orange, and red time-remaining alert settings and time-expired notification with optional sound or vibration
* Quick time and alert setting using gestures
* “Night” mode for darkly lit rooms
* Overrun bells option (sound and/or vibration every 30 seconds)
* A “really stop now” bell button in Master Timer mode that sounds and vibrates on synchronized devices (so a presenter has no excuse for continuing!)
* Landscape orientation option on iPhone & iPod touch with double-tap start/pause gesture and 1-second-touch set/reset/end gesture

Additions and changes in Presentime version 1.4 include:
* Larger time-remaining font and elimination of leading hours digits when they are zero
* Consolidated timing control buttons (now only 2 main control buttons)
* New landscape orientation option on iPhone & iPod touch with double-tap start/pause gesture and 1-second-touch set/reset/end gesture
* New overrun bells option (sound and/or vibration every 30 seconds)
* New Master Timer connection ID regenerate button in Settings
* Replaced individual default alert time sliders in Settings with Presentime’s panning alert-marks control
* Replaced alternating timer overrun background colors with a non-alternating purple background
* Subtler tinted/shaded background colors

Supports all devices running iOS 7 or later. Ad hoc peer-to-peer wireless networking requires:
* iPhone 5 or later
* iPad Air or 4th generation
* iPad mini
* iPod touch 5th generation
* Universal Application
* 1.8 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Presentime 1.4 is $2.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category. It is a free upgrade from earlier versions.

Midnight Oil Enterprises
Presentime 1.4
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Midnight Oil Enterprises, LLC was founded in 2009 by Susan Lander and Dan Corkill. Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, we strive to produce high quality iOS apps that are intuitive and easy to use. Our apps typically provide unique capabilities. For example, the Presentime Synchronized Presentation Timer app uses iOS 7’s Multipeer Connectivity for ad hoc peer-to-peer synchronization. On iPhones, our Disappearing Bedside Clock app uses proximity detection to provide touch-free display activation. Copyright (C) 2014 Midnight Oil Enterprises, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Presentime and Disappearing Bedside Clock are trademarks of Midnight Oil Enterprises, LLC. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.