Lately I’ve been on a tear prototyping iPhone and iPad apps with Keynote. I spend my life in Keynote anyway, so the interface is second nature to me. Even better, though: since you can link buttons in Keynote, you can also export clickable PDFs to tap through your design live on an actual device. That kind of testing is a critical step for early designs, helping you make sure that your pixels not only look good but feel good in the hand, too.

Keynotopia is a sensational resource for Keynote prototypers. The site’s creator, Amir Khella, has put together a truly useful collection of reasonably priced templates sporting a comprehensive collection of standard controls and widgets. Just drag these visual elements into place to quickly build mockups for a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 and more. Amir put together several tutorials and free sample prototypes to help you nail down the workflow quickly.

Keynotopia iPad template screen
A screen from Keynotopia’s iPad template set.

And hey, even better: I see that UX Booth and Keynotopia are plugging a promotion this week for 50% off the full slate of Keynotopia templates. The discount runs through Febuary 7, 2010, at 10 am ET. Go get ’em, recommended.

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