Did you know you could use your iPad as a productivity device? That it’s not just for entertainment and reading? You did? Oh. You must be a Guiding Tech subscriber then.

All kidding aside, even 4 years after its release, the “iPad is a luxury device” thinking just won’t go way. Sure it’s not as productive as a laptop. But then again it’s not meant to be. Which is why it doesn’t come with a keyboard. Although attaching a Bluetooth keyboard to the iPad does work wonders.

But I’m straying from the point. iPads, being iPads, can do things laptops and phones cannot. For instance, today we’ll learn how you can turn your iPad into a teleprompter complete with user controlled scrolling speed, external display support and even a mirroring feature for true pros.

Where Can This Teleprompter App Be Useful?

Any time you want to show some text across the hall to someone. The text doesn’t have to scroll, it can serve as a note as well.

Of course a teleprompter can be used in any event that involves public speaking. It can be the rehearsal for your kindergartner’s first school event, to hosting the biggest debate competition in the state, to an actual TV show (or maybe a YouTube video).

The possibilities are endless.

Teleprompting for pros: For pros who don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on teleprompting equipment, there exist slightly cheaper options. For under a thousand dollars you can get iPad compatible equipment. All you need to do is launch the apps, turn on the mirroring mode, and slide in the iPad.

iPrompt Pro

iPrompt Pro’s design hasn’t been updated since iOS 6 but that crime is easy to forgive after taking a look at its features.

On the left pane you’ll see a lot of settings. From here you can change the font, font color, size, and the background color to suit your needs.

When it comes to prompter settings we have orientation mode, scrolling speed, an external display connector, and a Mirrored display option for the pros.

Tap the + button on the top right, paste in the text from your paper or script, and give it a title. To start playing a file, tap the Share button and select Start. The playback will take up the entire screen and you can tap once on the screen to pause it or tap twice for options (and to exit).

iPrompt Pro is a free app but you’ll have to sit through an ad for teleprompter remote controls the app maker sells. There’s also a prompt that verifies you’re not using a remote every time you start playing. To get rid of that, change the Remote Type in the settings to None.

LCD4Video

LCD4Video is a very simple app. All you need to do is paste in your script and tap the Start button to get going. From the toolbar at the top you can change scrolling speed, text size, and start delay. Use the Refresh type button next to the Done button to use the mirroring mode.

The great thing about LCD4Video is that you can edit the text while it is scrolling.

iPrompt Pro vs LCD4Video: Which Is For You?

iPrompt Pro, as the title suggests, has a lot more features and gives you more control over the playback, including font adjustment, while LCD4Video does not.

iPrompt Pro also has great document management so if you have more than a couple of documents, iPrompt Pro is the easy choice.

LCD4Video is for beginners or for people who want a simple app to use one or two times.

How Do You Use Teleprompter Apps?

Do you make use of Teleprompter apps in your life? How? Let us know in the comments below.

Top image via Shutterstock