Software Review Archives - Review Products https://reviewproducts.net/tag/software-review/ Sensational Finds Await Your Gaze! Tue, 26 Mar 2024 07:51:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://reviewproducts.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/review-products-favicon.png Software Review Archives - Review Products https://reviewproducts.net/tag/software-review/ 32 32 OnSign TV Review https://reviewproducts.net/onsign-tv-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/onsign-tv-review/#respond Tue, 30 Apr 2024 16:00:04 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=728 OnSign TV Review The platform of choice for implementing the most demanding digital signage projects. OnSign TV is a professional CMS platform for creating, managing, and displaying content on signage screens. It has a comprehensive feature set, lengthy content library, and choice of plans with annual and volume discounts. However, the free trial is shorter ... Read more

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OnSign TV Review

The platform of choice for implementing the most demanding digital signage projects.

OnSign TV is a professional CMS platform for creating, managing, and displaying content on signage screens. It has a comprehensive feature set, lengthy content library, and choice of plans with annual and volume discounts. However, the free trial is shorter at 14 days, and support is only available through a contact portal.

Pros

  • +Free 14-day trial
  • +Choice of tiered plans
  • +Annual and volume discounts available

Cons

  • -Shorter trial than some competitors
  • -No free tier
  • -No direct phone support

OnSign TV, is a digital signage software that allows you to create, manage, and display content on screens, tablets, or video walls. OnSign TV is incorporated in Hong Kong and has its main development team in South America. It embraces a global view, with a commitment to providing its customers with excellent service globally. Via its network of partners in over 50 countries, it is constantly seeking to expand its reach.

As it has been a developer of internet services since 1995, it has experience with reliability and scalability of cloud services. OnSign TV’s cloud-based platform allows users to easily manage  content, create and schedule playlists, and even track viewership data.

ONSIGN TV: FEATURES

OnSign TV, a digital signage platform that allows you to manage your screens and content from anywhere.

OnSign TV has many features that make it easy and reliable to use, such as:

Remote view: You can see what is playing on your screens in real time from your web browser.

Apps: You can choose from more than 100 free apps to create engaging and dynamic content for your screens.

Custom apps: You can also create your own apps using the free SDK and integrate them with OnSign TV.

Redundancy: You can set up backup players and content to ensure your screens never go blank.

User management: You can create and manage multiple users and organizations with different permissions and access levels.

Touch support: You can enable interactive content and gestures on your touch screens.

GPS-based triggers: You can trigger content based on the location of your screens, such as weather, traffic, or nearby events.

IoT-integration: You can connect your screens with sensors, cameras, and other devices to create smart and responsive signage.

Server integration: You can integrate OnSign TV with your own servers and databases to display custom data and information.

API: You can use the OnSign TV API to automate tasks and integrate with other platforms.

Offline HTML file support: You can upload and display HTML files that work offline, without internet connection.

Custom font upload: You can upload and use your own fonts on your screens.

Support for complex and nested playlists: You can create playlists with multiple levels and conditions to display your content.

Enterprise features: You can use audit log, single sign-on, and other features to enhance the security and efficiency of your signage network.

OnSign TV is compatible with a wide range of hardware devices, including Android, Windows, Linux, BrightSign, and Samsung SSSP. You can also use the OnSign TV app for Android to turn your smartphone or tablet into a signage player.

Overall, we would characterize it as a powerful feature set, which both novices and experts will find what they need.

ONSIGN TV: PRICING

OnSign TV offers a choice of two tiers of plans. We did not find a free tier of plan, but there is a free 14-day trial, which is shorter than many competitors in the space that offer a full 30-day trial.

The lower tier of plan is called Professional, and comes in at a cost of $19.99/month per player when paid monthly, with volume discounts of greater than 25 players coming in at $16.99/month/player, and over 100 players at $14.99/month/player. There are also annual discounts available which start at $215.88 for the year per player, which works out to $17.99/month/player, and also similar discounts at higher volumes. It has a long list of features included such as email notifications, on demand content triggering, custom font uploads, and animated content transitions.

The upper plan is designated as Enterprise, with a cost of $29.99/month/player on a monthly basis, or $323.90 annually/player, which works out to the significant discount of $26.99/month/player. There are also volume discounts as well for over 100 players at $269.90, and also for over 250 players at $215.90/player. This plan has all the features of the lower plan, and adds a single sign on, an audit log, account login tracking, the option to revoke active ongoing sessions, and even more.

ONSIGN TV: SUPPORT

The direct support for OnSign TV is somewhat limited, with the single option to get in touch as a support portal. We would like to see an option for a live chat, and of course, a phone number to call as sometime direct contact is needed to resolve a more complicated issue. We also find it useful that there is the option on the support portal to upload a screenshot, a useful tool to share what the issue is, and mark up the image to pinpoint the problem. We did technically find an email, but it starts with info@, which leads us to believe that it is more targeted for sales, than support of the user base.

On the self help side of support, there is more content. We found numerous Tutorials, in both text, and YouTube video format. We also like the option to download it in a PDF for easy printing when working on an issue. Under the Expert Tips section, there is a nice library of content all in video format. We also like the Blog that is more for novice users, and the Release Notes that is more detailed and targets more mature users of the platform.

ONSIGN TV: FINAL VERDICT

OnSign TV is a professional CMS platform that allows you to create, manage, and display content on various types of signage screens. Strong points include the comprehensive feature set, the lengthy amount of content, and the choice of plans with both annual and volume discounts. Some shortcomings include that the free trial is shorter at 14 days, that the direct support is only a contact portal, and that there is no direct phone support. Overall, Onsign TV is a strong entry into the competitive digital signage space.

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Sitejet Website Builder Review https://reviewproducts.net/sitejet-website-builder-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/sitejet-website-builder-review/#respond Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:00:07 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=730 Sitejet Website Builder Review Can this business-focused website builder bridge the gap for novices in web design? Sitejet is a versatile website builder that offers a well-rounded solution for web designers, agencies, and individuals. Their three pricing plans provide flexibility for managing multiple projects. While Sitejet’s powerful drag-and-drop editor may pose a learning curve for ... Read more

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Sitejet Website Builder Review

Can this business-focused website builder bridge the gap for novices in web design?

Sitejet is a versatile website builder that offers a well-rounded solution for web designers, agencies, and individuals. Their three pricing plans provide flexibility for managing multiple projects. While Sitejet’s powerful drag-and-drop editor may pose a learning curve for newcomers, Sitejet excels in collaborative and workflow features, SEO tools, and strong website security. Plus, thanks to its 14-day free trial you can test Sitejet for yourself before committing.

Pros

  • +14-day free trial
  • +Polished and sleek dashboard
  • +Lightning-fast hosting with CDN
  • +Integrated snapshot feature
  • +Helpful customer support
  • +Handy built-in project manager
  • +To-do lists and project management tools
  • +Useful step-by-step wizard for the drag-and-drop builder

Cons

  • -No built-in marketing tools
  • -The drag-and-drop builder is complex for beginners
  • -Fewer templates compared to competitors

If you’re on the lookout for the best website builders to craft a captivating website for your entrepreneurial endeavor, Sitejet is a platform worth exploring. In this dynamic landscape, it has emerged as a robust platform catering to the needs of solo entrepreneurs and small business owners striving to establish a prominent online presence. So, If you’re on the hunt for a website builder that strikes the right balance between functionality and simplicity, Sitejet could be the game-changer you’ve been looking for.

At TechRadar, we understand the challenges entrepreneurs face when choosing the right tools for their digital journey. Our commitment to providing tried-and-tested tips has earned the trust of our readers, and in this hands-on review, we’ll unravel the intricacies of Sitejet to help you make a smart choice.

Throughout this exploration, we’ll delve into Sitejet’s core features, its usability for first-time website creators, and its potential to upgrade the online presence of small businesses. From design flexibility to ease of use, we’ll guide you through our hands-on experience with Sitejet, ensuring you have the information and insights needed to make use of this powerful builder.

Whether you’re stepping into the digital world for the first time or on the hunt for an improved solution for your current website, Sitejet could be the perfect platform for advancing your goals.

IS SITEJET THE RIGHT WEBSITE BUILDER FOR ME?

Choosing the perfect website builder is crucial for your online success. So, let’s dissect who Sitejet caters to best and who might discover it to be a less fitting solution.

Sitejet is solid for solo entrepreneurs, small business owners, and marketers looking for a user-centric website builder that combines project management and client collaboration. The “Business Center” provides an excellent dashboard, offering a swift snapshot of various website projects, client input, and revenue insights presented in user-friendly graphics. So, if you want features like to-do lists and project management tools, Sitejet is your go-to solution.

Although Sitejet is designed for ease of use, those who appreciate in-depth guidance in using the dashboard might find it a bit less hand-holding compared to a simpler website builder. While powerful, the builder can sometimes feel like navigating a maze, with a lot of options and levels to explore.

This level of complexity might be overwhelming for users who prefer a more straightforward setup. So, if you’re on the lookout for a builder who holds your hand every step of the way, you might want to consider alternative choices such as Wix or Weebly.

SITEJET FEATURES AND TOOLS

Like with most website builder, you just need to fill in a few basic details to get started with Sitejet.

Getting started with Sitejet is simple. You can kick off the registration process straight from the homepage by clicking on “Get Started” or “Free 14-Day Trial.” Simply enter the email address you want to use for your Sitejet login, and you’re on your way.

Within minutes, you’ll receive a confirmation email at the provided address. Don’t forget to check your spam folder if you don’t see it. Click on the confirmation link in the email, and you’ll be redirected to Sitejet to add some details about your business and set up your password.

Once you’re all done, you’ll arrive at Sitejet’s dashboard.

TEMPLATES

Sitejet offers a reasonable range of stunning templates to pick from.

Sitejet has a cool collection over 90 templates that come free with any plan you choose. While this number might not match the extensive libraries of some competitors, Sitejet promises more templates in the pipeline, so you can expect fresh choices now and then.

Though you can’t import third-party templates, we found that Sitejet’s existing templates cover a wide variety of industries, including IT and media, travel, education, culture, art, and so forth.

Customization is simple with Sitejet’s drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to start from scratch or modify existing templates. While the designs may not stun with complexity, Sitejet prioritizes simplicity, making the templates easy to personalize. Each template captures distinct moods with high-quality demo content, adding animations, hover effects, and other design elements.

The customization process revolves around a straightforward grid layout, offering lots of options for playing around with text, images, animations, and sizes. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can even add custom code to spice things up. All templates are fully responsive to various mobile screen sizes, and users can preview designs on multiple Apple or Android display dimensions.

SITEJET WEBSITE EDITOR

Sitejet’s website editor offers plenty of flexibility.

Sitejet’s drag-and-drop editor strikes a nice balance between simplicity and functionality. It allows you to modify designs and themes even after creating a website, offering access to a solid collection of customizable designs. The editor supports unlimited page creation and covers essential content elements like text, images, forms, and much more.

Built in tools make it easy to opimize your page for search engines.

With robust SEO integration, each page’s settings, including name and SEO details, can be customized for optimal search engine visibility. The platform also automates Google indexing, which will boost your online presence.

With mobile editor you can preview your website on various devices, adjusting it to look stunning in both landscape and portrait mode. Plus, there are presets and a plethora of customizable features, from headers and footers to forms, making the design process a joy.

Through your dashboard, you gain an overview of multiple websites, each with detailed status information. There, the customer view provides insights into customer interactions for simpler management.

However, while Sitejet’s editor provides some powerful customization, it might pose a challenge for newcomers. The complexity of the builder, with all its features and choices, may require a learning curve for those new to website creation.

Sitejet Website Builder Screenshot

AI tools can help speed up repetitive tasks when building your website.

Sitejet’s AI-powered text generator, currently in Beta, introduces a way to create content without a hitch. Accessible through the editor, this feature allows you to specify input and output language, provide a text description, and adjust additional settings such as word count, target group, author, and tone. With a simple click on “Generate text,” ChatGPT will work its magic, crafting content shaped by your preferences.

DOMAINS ON SITEJET

With all Sitejet plans, you can connect external domains or register new ones directly through Sitejet. It’s a worthwhile feature for web designers who want to showcase live websites to clients, allowing for quick feedback and collaboration.

For added convenience, domain management is centralized, meaning you’ll get an oversight of multiple websites. So, no need to worry about your domain name suddenly expiring.

The Team and Agency plans go a step further, allowing full branding of the Sitejet platform, including the customer portal, with your corporate identity. Moreover, you can operate the system under your custom domain for a more polished, professional touch.

To register a domain within Sitejet, access the domain manager, click “+ Domain,” follow the simple steps to check availability and complete the registration process. The pricing is transparent, with options like .com at $8.99, .biz at $18.53, and .app at $31.20 per year. Should you need a specific top-level domain (TDL) not listed, Sitejet’s support team will try to find a solution for you upon request.

SITEJET ECOMMERCE

Adding products to your Sitejet website is quick and easy.

Sitejet simplifies the ecommerce experience by seamlessly integrating Ecwid, one of the top ecommerce solutions. This built-in store functionality enables you to effortlessly set up and manage your web stores directly within Sitejet’s dashboard.

With Sitejet’s integrated ecommerce solution, you can establish your online store and embed it into their website with ease. The platform supports a wide range of products and allows for external management through its robust backend. You can showcase up to five products for free, making it a solid choice for small businesses and startups.

To create an Ecwid shop, access the “Shop” category in Sitejet’s website editor and follow the step-by-step instructions provided in Sitejet’s help articles. There are no setup or transaction fees associated with Ecwid, regardless of the plan chosen. This makes it an attractive choice for those looking to build an online store without any additional costs.

SITEJET MARKETING INTEGRATIONS

While Sitejet lacks built-in marketing tools, it compensates with seamless integrations to boost your online presence and marketing efforts. For SEO enhancement, Sitejet provides essential integrations (Webflow, AgencyAnalytics, Wistia, and more) giving you the tools to optimize your websites for search engines.

In terms of email marketing, Sitejet supports integrations with popular platforms such as Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, ConvertKit, and AWeber. This lets you connect your email marketing campaigns with your Sitejet-powered websites, ensuring effective communication with your target audience.

Screenshot of Sitejet’s App Store

Rather than building everything into the platform, Sitejet offers integrations, allowing you to seamlessly add some of the best tools on the market to your website. (Image credit: Sitejet)

Social media plays a crucial role in modern marketing and Sitejet acknowledges this by offering integrations with various social media platforms. You can easily link your X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media accounts.

Beyond email marketing and social media, Sitejet provides a wide variety of in-app integrations designed to elevate your business’s visibility and popularity. So, while this platform may not have native marketing tools, its integrations can empower you to leverage third-party solutions to upgrade your marketing strategies.

WEBSITE SECURITY

Through our experience, we’ve found that incorporating SSL into your website with Sitejet is surprisingly straightforward. A simple click in the Domain Manager activates SSL, creating a secure HTTPS connection for your website. The SSL certificate is automatically generated for the website and extends to all connected subdomains.

Sitejet strengthens website performance and protection through the integration of a content delivery network (CDN) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation. These not only make your pages load faster but also provide a protective shield against potential cyber threats.

Sitejet takes the trouble out of website backups with an integrated snapshot feature. The system automatically saves backups of your websites, providing a safety net in case of unexpected troubles.

Screenshot of Sitejet’s Security Features

Backups can be a lifesaver if anything ever goes wrong with your website.

If you’re craving collaboration and additional features, the Team plan at $29 per month (on annual billing) is a step up. It’s a solid choice for web designers managing multiple projects.

Taking it to the next level, the Agency plan, priced at $69 per month (on annual billing), caters to agencies and teams. With it, you’ll get extra perks like website export, multi-user permissions, white-label tools, and API access. However, it’s a significant spike in price.

Thinking about adding additional websites? Solo users can add extra websites for $15 each month, Teams pay $8 monthly per additional website with an annual plan, and Agencies enjoy the most cost-effective solution at just $5 per month per additional website with an annual commitment.

All Sitejet plans come with an array of features, covering essentials like web hosting, SSL encryption, CDN and DDoS protection, and automated backups. Benefit from continuous CMS updates, seamless domain connection or registration, unlimited email accounts, and generous allowances for website analytics and storage per project.

To explore Sitejet’s features, you can take advantage of the 14-day free trial which gives you access to the mid-tier “Team” plan’s functionalities. When the trial runs out, you’ll be downgraded to the Solo version, which you can continue to use for free. No credit card info is required, and you won’t be charged until you decide to publish or export your website.

To delve deeper into Sitejet’s pricing details and explore which plan matches your needs best, check out Sitejet’s pricing page.

SITEJET HELP AND SUPPORT

Having live chat support can be really helpful when you need a little advice.

Sitejet has got your back with a blend of email and live chat support, all aimed at making your experience smooth. While their support hours are a bit mysterious, they try to respond even beyond working hours. Also, online chat availability can be a bit elusive.

If you’re planning to send them an email, anticipate a reasonable two to three-hour response time, which isn’t that bad. The support team, although occasionally fashionably late, is known for being friendly and helpful. Convenient links to their help desk are sprinkled across the dashboard, and a chat widget pops up when the live chat stars align.

For those who prefer a hands-on approach, Sitejet offers an array of resources, including user-friendly step-by-step guides and straight-to-the-point video tutorials. Don’t miss their comprehensive demo video – a crash course in mastering Sitejet. While live support may face occasional challenges due to popularity, Sitejet’s support team compensates with a Slack group for user-to-user support and the option to schedule a one-on-one demo whenever you like.

It’s worth noting that the Solo package includes regular chat and email support, while the upper-tier plans feature priority email support. Additionally, Sitejet offers so-called “success support” for their partners, covering tech, sales, and web design.

SITEJET: WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED? WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

While Sitejet offers an excellent website-building experience, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Firstly, there aren’t built-in marketing tools, so if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution for SEO, social media, and email marketing, you‘ll need to explore additional third-party tools.

Another consideration is the complexity of the drag-and-drop builder, especially for beginners. While powerful, the learning curve might be steeper compared to more beginner-friendly alternatives.

Also, while the template library is growing, it’s not the largest out there. You’ve got some superb options, but it might not have the sheer variety you’d find with other builders.

SITEJET REVIEW: FINAL THOUGHTS

To conclude, Sitejet offers a robust website-building platform tailored for web designers, agencies, and solo entrepreneurs. While it may not be the most intuitive for beginners, its drag-and-drop editor and extensive feature set make it a powerful tool for professionals. The collaboration features, like the customer portal, enable seamless interactions with clients, enhancing the overall workflow.

Although Sitejet isn’t the most budget-friendly choice, it provides superb value for money. If you’re also willing to invest time in mastering its features, Sitejet can be a powerful ally in crafting stunning and professional websites.

SITEJET WEBSITE BUILDER FAQS:-

Is Sitejet free?

Sitejet is not free but they offer a 14-day trial period during which you can explore all the features of the Team plan, aside from the export feature. After the trial, your account moves to the Solo plan. However, to publish or export a website, you’ll need to pick out a paid plan.

Can I host a website with Sitejet?

Yes, Sitejet provides built-in, high-speed hosting, and each plan includes hosting for one website. You can publish your website on any domain, either registered through Sitejet or externally connected. The Team and Agency plans offer the flexibility to export websites, and additional websites can be published at additional cost, including essential features like SSL encryption, CDN, and DDoS protection.

Where does Sitejet host my website?

If you choose to host with Sitejet, your websites will be hosted on their robust GDPR-compliant server infrastructure powered by Hetzner. There are no limits on storage or bandwidth, which should provide an efficient hosting environment for your websites.

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Adobe Acrobat Standard (2024) Review https://reviewproducts.net/adobe-acrobat-standard-2024-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/adobe-acrobat-standard-2024-review/#respond Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:00:39 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=734 Adobe Acrobat Standard (2024) Review Edit and customize PDFs in a flexible easy-to-use working environment. Adobe Acrobat Standard offers all the tools you’d need to edit and manipulate a PDF file (more advanced options are reserved for the Pro version). As it stands, it’s a well designed multi-platform app, with a wealth of easy-to-use features. ... Read more

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Adobe Acrobat Standard (2024) Review

Edit and customize PDFs in a flexible easy-to-use working environment.

Adobe Acrobat Standard offers all the tools you’d need to edit and manipulate a PDF file (more advanced options are reserved for the Pro version). As it stands, it’s a well designed multi-platform app, with a wealth of easy-to-use features. If you’re looking for a versatile tool – and don’t mind subscribing to it – it’s definitely worth checking out.

Pros

  • +Multi-platform
  • +Wealth of options
  • +Easy to use
  • +Flexible and customizable

Cons

  • -Not the cheapest of subscriptions
  • -Some high end tools reserved for the Pro version
  • -Not all formats are supported

Adobe Acrobat – the original PDF reader and editor – today comes in three distinct versions for a variety of different use-cases. But Acrobat Standard with the broadest appeal for document management.

In our Acrobat Reader review, we explored Adobe’s basic PDF viewer, while our Adobe Acrobat Pro review looked at the best-for-business option. Adobe Acrobat Standard sits in the middle of this line-up, as PDF creation and editing software capable of delivering most tools for most users, in both casual and professional settings.

We’ve long-rated Acrobat as the best PDF editor – but how does it compare to the competition in 2024? We put Adobe’s top tool to the test.

ADOBE ACROBAT STANDARD: PRICE & PLANS

Subscription-based software that’s pricier than some of the competition.

As with most Adobe products, you’ll need a subscription to get the most from Acrobat. But it’s not like the the Reader and Pro versions.

As mentioned in our Adobe Acrobat Reader review, Adobe’s basic PDF viewer is free, while Acrobat Pro offers you a free trial. To get to grips with Adobe Acrobat Standard, however, you have to subscribe. There is no free trial, no free anything. Thankfully, you can request a refund after 14 days, but that still requires effort on the subscriber’s part to remember to cancel in time when trying an app out.

Alternatively, you can opt to get Pro’s free trial to get a sense of the Standard offering. Aside from a handful of features such as bulk e-signature requests, and admin tools to manage teams, the toolset is virtually identical.

If you decide Adobe Acrobat Standard is for you, you have a choice from the usual Adobe subscription plans: annual paid monthly, monthly, and annual plans are available (and, as you’d expect, paying upfront for the year is the cheapest option).

The price is quite a lot more expensive than some of its competition, such as Easeus PDF Editor, FoxIt PDF Editor, or ILovePDF, but you get a good amount for your money if you’re a PDF power-user.

Pricing & plans: 3.5/5

ADOBE ACROBAT STANDARD: INTERFACE

Simple, and easy to find the tools you’re after, while offering you a soupçon of customization

If you’re familiar with Adobe Acrobat Reader, you’ll feel right at home in Adobe Acrobat Standard, and the same will be true should you ever jump to Adobe Acrobat Pro. But unlike Acrobat Reader, all the tools on display actually work – rather than a bid to entice you to upgrade. It might be the one of the best free PDF readers for now, but for any real document management, Acrobat Standard or Pro are all but essential.

Acrobat’s sidebar on the left gives you quick access to your files, those you’ve recently worked on or read, those that reside in your online Adobe Cloud Storage, any Agreements you’ve signed or requested a signature for, and files stored on your computer, some support for some of the best cloud storage services, such as Box, Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive and SharePoint.

Click on ‘Recent’ to see a handful of available tools, like ‘Edit PDF’, ‘Create PDF’, and ‘Combine Files’, but if you want to see all available options, click on the ‘Tools’ tab, to the right of the ‘Home’ tab, top left of the interface. If you’re already in the ‘Recent’ section, you also have an ‘See All Tools’ button to the right which does the same thing.

These tools are listed by category, depending on what you need to do, and their titles are self explanatory: ‘Edit & Create’, ‘Forms & Signature’, ‘Share & Review’, etc. To the right you’ll find a sidebar with another list or commonly used tools. That sidebar is totally customizable: reorder the list by dragging items up or down, remove tools you don’t need, and add some not currently displayed by selecting them from the main list. This helps you focus on the main tools you find yourself using all the time.

Interface: 4/5

ADOBE ACROBAT STANDARD: TOOLS

An example of good design – a wealth of tools are well-organized, versatile, and easy to use, coupled with a flexible interface designed to work the way you do

You may think that Adobe Acrobat Standard only lets you work on one particular function at a time, but this would be to misunderstand the underlying elegance of the software. Sure, each tool has its own icon, and you can customize the sidebar to the right as discussed above, but that doesn’t mean the functionalities are segregated.

Take the ‘Combine Files’ tool for instance. As its name implies, this is where you import multiple PDFs and merge them into one. But what if you’d like to remove some pages, or reorder others? Do you have to click on another icon for that? Well, no. Once you’re in the editing section, you are actually free to do pretty much whatever you like with your PDF. So you can reorder and delete pages from the ‘Combine Files’ section. You can also annotate, or even edit the existing text and images, without having to select another tool. All your editing options are available via the toolbar at the top.

Some tools will reveal another toolbar, like the ‘Edit Text & Images’ icon, but you can do everything you need to do without having to interact with the right sidebar… unless you want to of course.

Access a tool like ‘Combine’, and notice you can use others right from its interface, offering you great flexibility in the way you work (Image credit: Adobe)

It’s this kind of flexibility of working that we love in a well designed app: you’re offered multiple ways of performing the same action, and it’s up to you to decide which one fits your workflow best, without that being forced upon you by a developer.

So, Adobe Acrobat Standard is an incredibly well-designed and flexible software, which aims to help you manipulate, annotate, and edit PDFs. You’re able to do the simplest things, from transforming a PDF into a variety of other formats, such as Word, Excel, JPG, HTML and a few others, to creating a file from scratch, and everything in between, including filing in and signing PDFs. The list is pretty extensive and what’s best is how easy and intuitive the tools are to use.

Considering Adobe created the format, it’s little surprise they’d design a best-in-class application to manipulate it – even in the face of some of the best Adobe Acrobat alternatives. It’s obviously far better than Acrobat Reader which mostly felt to us like an advert for this software. This is Acrobat as you expect it to be, with a wide array of tools to help you work in the PDF format and achieve what you need to achieve – mostly.

There are a few limitations, most of which are covered by the ‘Pro’ version, such as converting files into the PDF format, redacting information, and comparing two versions of a PDF. Such functions are deemed by Adobe to be higher end, and should not be needed by the vast majority of its target audience, unless of course they do, which is where Acrobat Pro comes in.

SHOULD I BUY?

Adobe Acrobat Standard during our review process.

You can transform a PDF file into a wide number of other formats, from Microsoft, to HTML, to images and more besides (Image credit: Adobe)

BUY IT IF…

You need a well designed piece of software that allows you to work with a PDF file, from basic management, to filing in and signing documents, to creating some from scratch.

DON’T BUY IT IF…

You’d rather save money with the best free PDF editors, or your document modifications are more modest – Acrobat is full of features, and you may not need them all.

ADOBE ACROBAT STANDARD: ALTERNATIVES

We’ve tested a range of Acrobat substitutes – and our top-rated apps include:

pdfFiller, a surprisingly feature-rich web-based editing tool.

EaseUS PDF Editor, which offers a low-cost annual subscription compared to PDF24 Creator, which is our favorite, feature-filled PDF tool you can use completely free.

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Adobe Acrobat Reader (2024) Review https://reviewproducts.net/adobe-acrobat-reader-2024-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/adobe-acrobat-reader-2024-review/#respond Tue, 23 Apr 2024 16:00:23 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=744 Adobe Acrobat Reader (2024) Review Read and annotate PDFs for free. If you’re looking for a free PDF reader which allows you to read such files, fill in and sign forms, and even annotate documents, all while remaining within the Adobe ecosystem, then this app is for you… shame about all the prompts to constantly ... Read more

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Adobe Acrobat Reader (2024) Review

Read and annotate PDFs for free.

If you’re looking for a free PDF reader which allows you to read such files, fill in and sign forms, and even annotate documents, all while remaining within the Adobe ecosystem, then this app is for you… shame about all the prompts to constantly entice you to upgrade to Acrobat Pro.

Pros

  • +Free
  • +Multiplatform
  • +Easy to use

Cons

  • -Disruptive prompts to upgrade
  • -Advanced tools are a carrot for Acrobat Pro subscription

The PDF format was created by Adobe Systems, and introduced at the Windows and OS/2 Conference in January 1993. It became an open standard in 2008, which enabled other companies to make PDF-compatible software. However, Adobe Acrobat Reader remains the venerable original – but is it still one of the best free PDF readers we’ve tested? We’re going to take a look.

ADOBE ACROBAT READER: PRICE & PLANS

It’s totally free, but there’s a price to pay in the form numerous prompts urging you to try out Acrobat Pro

There are multiple versions of Acrobat: Reader, Standard, and Pro. Each offers an increasing number of features, each comes in its own dedicated application, and we’ll therefore review them separately.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC at Amazon for ₹234.82

Reader is the simplest of the bunch, offering the most basic functions, and is designed to be accessed by as many people as possible. As a result, it is offered completely free of charge. Shame about the constant prompts to get you to upgrade, though. It does distract from the otherwise pleasant workflow.

Pricing & plans: 3.5/5

ADOBE ACROBAT READER: INTERFACE

The software’s main window is clean and simple showing you a handful of tools, while reminding you to upgrade to Acrobat Pro

A large clear interface offering you tools which you can’t actually use unless you log on or pay

The interface looks clean and simple. To the left you’ve got a sidebar showing links to various functions, such as any recent documents you’ve worked with within the app, access to your Adobe Cloud Storage, any Agreement documents you’ve dealt with, and links to file storage, either on your hard drive, or via many of the best cloud storage providers, such as Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and SharePoint.

The bulk of the interface to the right will depend on which menu is selected in the sidebar, with ‘Recent’ offering you some tools such as adding comments to a PDF, request an e-signature, or fill and sign a document yourself. You can also open a PDF and simply read it.

The ‘Online Cloud Storage’, which takes up a fair chunk of the sidebar, is only effective when you’ve signed in with your Adobe ID. Top right and lower left are also permanent adverts for you to “try Acrobat Pro, free for 7 days”. You’ll also find a small ‘Create’ tab, top left. This is where you’ll find one of the best Word to PDF converters – but it also works with images. It’s a great tool, for sure… except this isn’t actually available for free: you would have to upgrade to either Standard or Pro to take advantage of such a feature.

But that’s not the only hidden prompt to upgrade you’ll find dotted around the interface. There are many enticing tools offering you to Convert a PDF into a Microsoft format, or Edit a PDF for instance, but none are actually available unless you pay for Standard or Pro.

All of this must be great from a marketing point of view, but is far from user friendly. In fact, the interface feels way too big for the small amount of features you actually have access to with Acrobat Reader.

Interface: 2/5

ADOBE ACROBAT READER: ONLINE ADVANTAGES

Once you’ve logged in, you can easily set up documents and send them for others to fill in and sign – all for free

A generous amount of online storage, and an easier way to request e-signatures. What’s not to like?

Adobe Acrobat Reader really wants you to sign in, so let’s sign in. This can be done any time you select a tool that cannot work without being online, or simply by clicking on the ‘sign in’ button, top right of the interface, just above the large blue ‘Try Acrobat Pro’ button.

The most obvious bonus is gaining access to your ‘Adobe Cloud Storage’. Adobe very generously offers you 2GB of free storage. It’s yours forever. No need to pay for anything in order to get it. So that’s great.

We have to say, though, this is some of the best eSignature software in a PDF reader. Once you’ve signed up and signed in, it’s really easy to add text and signature fields to a document which can then be sent to other people, all handled through Adobe’s Cloud Storage. The recipients do not need an account themselves. This can be most useful.

Online advantages: 4/5

ADOBE ACROBAT READER: FREE TOOLS

Reading a PDF, annotating it, drawing on it, inserting notes, it’s all very easy to achieve.

Let’s take a look at what you can actually do with Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can of course open and read a PDF. This is a very simple function, which offers you the ability to scroll through the document and even search for specific words.

On top of that, you can add comments, make annotations, draw on the page, add shapes, that sort of thing. It’s all incredibly easy to use. You’re even able to change the colour and thickness of what you’re applying to the page.

To the left you’ll find a sidebar, containing tools, most of which you can’t use without paying – again. The little blue asterisk is there, but only when you hover over the menu you’re interested in, so as to hide the fact you can’t actually have access to what’s on offer.

Acrobat Reader can detect fields that need to be filled in, making it easy for you to complete and sign a digital form

When it comes to filling in and signing a form yourself, Adobe Acrobat Reader will automatically highlight the sections that are designed for you to fill in, and if they haven’t been set for you by the sender, you can click on a button and Acrobat Reader will detect the fields automatically. We found this saves a lot of time – your mileage may vary, but we found that automatic detection to be almost flawless.

It’s a shame that many of the other best free PDF editors and readers offer more tools without charge. Apple Preview for instance allows you to combine PDFs, reorder pages, take pages out, place pages into new documents, and convert any file it can open into a PDF. These should be seen as basic functions, not premium ones. Sadly, Adobe thinks you must subscribe in order to gain access to those.

Free tools: 4/5

ADOBE ACROBAT READER: PAID TOOLS

Why offer tools you can’t actually use unless you upgrade to a different piece of Adobe software?

Adobe Acrobat Reader showcases 28 different tools, which sounds fantastic, but the vast majority of these can only really be accessed by upgrading the app to Standard or Pro. Very useful tools like ‘Scan & OCR’, ‘Convert to PDF’, ‘Redact a PDF’, ‘Combine Files’ and many more are there for you to look at, but not for you to use. This is exceedingly frustrating.

Thankfully, those ‘premium’ tools have a small blue asterisk next to their icon to help you discern them. Puzzlingly, ‘Request a Signature’ has such an icon, yet you can use it for free. This leaves 7 tools (8 if you count ‘Request a Signature’) free for you to use. It is frustrating to see this, especially since Adobe’s professional tools are so exceedingly good. Such tactics shouldn’t be needed.

The activity, linked to a document, will show you who has read it and signed it – an easy to follow digital paper trail

BUY IT IF…

You want a PDF reader that offers you a few basic functions that work well, while constantly reminding you its paid-for alternatives have more advanced tools available.

DON’T BUY IT IF…

You don’t want to be constantly reminded of other Adobe apps you can purchase that would allow you to use most of the tools Acrobat Reader displays, but restricts.

ADOBE ACROBAT READER: ALTERNATIVES

We’ve tested the best PDF readers for Windows, the best PDF readers for Android, and the best PDF readers for Mac. So, if you’re looking for an alternative to Reader, we know what to look out for.

First, check our Adobe Acrobat Standard review (or our Acrobat Pro review for business use). This full-featured PDF editor is a vastly superior proposition, packed with all the tools you’ll need for creating, editing, and collaborating on PDF documents.

In our experience, the closest competition – a free PDF reader with a good set of tools – we recommend checking out our Apple Preview review for macOS users and our PDF24 Creator review – it’s one of the best PDF editors on the market and doesn’t cost anything.

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Telemetry TV Review https://reviewproducts.net/telemetry-tv-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/telemetry-tv-review/#respond Sun, 21 Apr 2024 16:00:26 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=748 Telemetry TV Review Transforming Screens Into Powerful Engagement. TelemetryTV offers a long feature set to take your screen to the next level, and vastly increase its engagement. While we like that the pricing is upfront and the free trial, we do note the more limited support options on lower plans and that there is no ... Read more

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Telemetry TV Review

Transforming Screens Into Powerful Engagement.

TelemetryTV offers a long feature set to take your screen to the next level, and vastly increase its engagement. While we like that the pricing is upfront and the free trial, we do note the more limited support options on lower plans and that there is no free tier.

Pros

  • +Annual discounts on some plans
  • +Transparent pricing
  • +Free trial
  • +Detailed self help support info

Cons

  • -No free tier
  • -Limited support options on lower tiers
  • -No discounts for larger numbers of screens

TelemetryTV is a powerful digital signage platform built for the modern organization who needs to engage audiences, generate awareness, and give their teams and communities a voice. It is used by top organizations, including Starbucks, the Stanford School of Medicine, Carvana and Amazon.

TelemetryTV allows users to broadcast dynamic content easily by streaming video, images, social feeds, turnkey apps, and data-driven dashboards to all of your displays wherever they are TelemetryTV is a powerful digital signage platform launched in 2013 that helps modern organizations engage audiences, raise awareness, and give their teams and communities a voice. It allows users to easily broadcast dynamic content by streaming video, images, social feeds, turnkey apps, and data-driven dashboards to all of their displays, wherever they are.

TELEMETRY TV: FEATURES

TelemetryTV is a cloud-based digital signage software, which operates a SaaS subscription model, with no availability for a perpetual license or on-premise hosting. It has a variety of features, including: content management to display schedules, events, and videos with customized layouts, along with device management that covers a wide range of hardware options, and scheduling to encompass a single page, multiple pages, or an entire playlist- your choice. There is also support for multiple content types, the ability to display a web application on any screen and support for social feeds that can broadcast streaming video, images, social feeds, turnkey apps, or even data driven dashboards. You can also rest assured that there is support for seamless integration with your current business architecture, along with SOC2-certified security.

Additional features round out the comprehensive approach of TelemetryTV, with support for remote use, auto updates, the ability to display schedules, videos and events via customized layouts, and a login process that can be automated.

TELEMETRY TV: PRICING

TelemetryTV is a subscription based model, with a choice of plans, three for business, and two for enterprise. There is no free tier, but there is an offer for a free trial, and some plans offer an annual discount when committing to pay a year at a time rather than monthly. We also would have liked to see a discount when taking the subscription for multiple devices on the business plans, but a shortcoming is that the additional devices are priced the same unless it is an enterprise plan, which in all fairness is how other products in the space do as well.

The bottom plan is Entry, which costs $9/month per device, with no minimum number of devices. It includes up to 5 user licenses, with a limit of 10 playlists, 10 GB of storage with bandwidth of 100 GB/month. There is also support for iOS, Mac, Windows and Android. It otherwise includes support for most of the features, such as the app library, image and video file storage, real time content management and Google Drive integration. Support is limited to only live chat.

Moving up a tier is the Core, which has a cost of $15 per month per device, with the option to pay annually at a rate of $13/month per device. It adds multiple features, including group permissions, user activity logs, automatic device provisioning, and playlist and device tag filters. It also increases to 100 user licenses, 50 GB of media storage, and bandwidth of 1000 GB/month.

The top business plan is Elite, at a slightly higher cost of $16 per month per device, but the lone option is to pay it upfront on an annual basis. The other issue with this plan is that it must be taken for a minimum of 10 devices, a likely significant barrier to admission for smaller businesses and organizations. It adds a handful of features to the lower plans, such as embeddable playlists, serial port commands, proof of play and device logs, and media auto expire. It also has a larger limit of 1,000 user licenses.

There are also two enterprise plans, starting at Network at a cost of $9/device/month, and a minimum of 500 devices (and includes the option for volume discounts with even more devices.

TELEMETRY TV: SUPPORT

There are a number of options for direct support, but some of the options are reserved for the higher tiers of plan. More specifically, TelemetryTV provides email and live chat support as standard. However, phone and video support gets reserved for the Plus, Network, and Enterprise Plans. Also be aware that support hours are 4AM – 5PM PST, with the days of operation not specified, along with an email for direct contact with the caveat that it is “For large opportunities in an unsupported time zone.”

There are also resources for self help information as well. These include a blog, a “Getting Started” guide which has helpful videos, an API Documentation, and a FAQ with answers to about two dozen questions.

TELEMETRYTV: FINAL VERDICT

TelemetryTV allows users to broadcast dynamic content easily by streaming video, images, social feeds, turnkey and custom apps, and data-driven dashboards to all of your displays wherever they are. TelemetryTV makes it easy for users to broadcast dynamic content by streaming video, images, social media feeds, turnkey and custom apps, and data-driven dashboards to any display, anywhere. We appreciate the upfront pricing with a choice of tiers, the integration with other platforms such as Google Docs, the support options, and the free trial. Some things to keep in mind are the less support options on the lower tiers, the shorter 24/7 phone support times, the lack of a free tier that some competitors do offer, and no options for local hosting. Overall, with a choice of so many tiers, we think that users would do well to choose TelemetryTV for their digital signage needs.

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Loomly Review https://reviewproducts.net/loomly-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/loomly-review/#respond Sun, 14 Apr 2024 16:00:36 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=654 Loomly Review A social media management service that aims to reduce stress. Loomly offers a really nice, simple service with clear tiers that are good value compared to some of its rivals. While some features, like custom branding, are reserved only for the top tiers, everything else is there. One of the big pluses is ... Read more

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Loomly Review

A social media management service that aims to reduce stress.

Loomly offers a really nice, simple service with clear tiers that are good value compared to some of its rivals. While some features, like custom branding, are reserved only for the top tiers, everything else is there. One of the big pluses is that all major social platforms are supported on all tiers.

Pros

  • +Lots of features
  • +Many features available on all plans
  • +Lovely UI
  • +Lots of online support documents

Cons

  • -Custom branding reserved only for top tier
  • -Some rivals cater more to power user

Loomly is one of the newer and snappier entries into TechRadar Pro’s list of the best social media management tools, and with good reason. Built for the social media era, Loomly tries to make life simple for its users – which could soon include you.

We’ve already thoroughly tested the likes of Hootsuite, HubSpot, and Circleboom, and while these might be more familiar names in the social media space, Loomly is definitely worth checking out.

Loomly themselves tout huge time savings of 30 hours per week for average users, who can make use of the built-in 300 or more content ideas, which can be especially helpful for smaller organizations with fewer people to bounce ideas off.

Sign up for Loomly

There’s a reason that the likes of Dior, Honda, BMW, The Salvation Army, Thomas Cook, and many more use Loomly’s services to manage their brand posts across every major social media channel, and some smaller ones too.

Given the world we live in has become dominated by social media platforms, making sure your business can stay ahead of the pack is vitally important. Just having a company blog no longer cuts it in 2024, sadly, as users discover services via social media and everyone is competing for attention.

In this review, we’re going to cover a lot of ground and make sure you can make an informed decision about whether Loomly is your pick for best social media manager in 2024. Let’s dive in.

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PLANS AND PRICING

First, the good stuff: pricing. If you’re a small business, or even a one-person operation, then cost is going to be very, very important and might weigh more on the decision than the respective features.

Loomly is priced very competitively and splits its service into four very easy to understand tiers: Basic, Standard, Advanced, and Premium. We’ll go through each.

Basic: as the name suggests, this is the lowest level tier that Loomly offers, with support for 10 accounts, two users, and access to interactions, analytics, a hashtag manager, post previews, and more, for $32 per month.

Standard: billed as the most popular option, a Standard subscription gives you everything in Basic plus 20 accounts, six users, advanced analytics, content exports, and Slack and Teams integration, for $60 per month.

Advanced: for larger clients, this tier supports up to 35 accounts and 14 users, plus the ability to set custom roles, create custom workflows, and enjoy scheduled reports, all for $131 per month.

Premium: finally, for the biggest companies, Loomly offers a tier that can handle everything, including up to 50 accounts, 30 users, and the ability to add custom branding, plus everything else in the other three plans, for $277 per month.

All of these subscription tiers include a discount when paying annually, which might be something your organisation wants to do anyway – a nice little addition.

Loomly also offers an Enterprise tier that comes upon request, and includes tailored support via an account manager and the ability to scale up beyond even the heights of Premium, while getting a nice little discount.

FEATURES

With pricing out of the way, let’s get into the actual features that Loomly has on offer. As standard, Loomly supports all of the major social networks – Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Google, Snap, and so on – and that applies to all of the tiers, not just the more expensive ones, which is a nice touch.

All users can also access the ability to schedule unlimited posts, publish directly, manage hashtags, use link shorteners, and store unlimited assets on the platform. Compared to some of its rivals, that’s a decent list.

Loomly also lets every user access an approval workflow (which is very handy given the downsides to posting things before they’re ready) and the ability to set user roles. All but Basic get Slack and Teams integrations, too.

In terms of actual content creation, Loomly offers users Basic through Premium access to post previews, Google Drive, Canva, a post inspiration tool, the ability to reply to interactions, and an analytics dashboard.

Finally, Loomly’s iOS and Android apps are available to all and really help with jotting down ideas on the go or making tweaks while you’re out and about. Some rivals reserve the apps for higher tiers, so this is also a nice thought.

If you thought this section went on for a little it’s because, well, Loomly is very generous with the “basic” features on its service, making this ideal for any organization that doesn’t want to spend too much while being able to do a lot.

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Digging a little bit deeper, let’s take a look at some of the more advanced features that Loomly offers. While the company is generous, there are some features your business might want to take advantage of that require a higher plan.

Starting off with an obvious one, Loomly lets Standard tiers and upwards access its advanced analytics, which does go into a lot more detail, as well as the ability to export results. Advanced and Premium users can also schedule reports.

Exporting content, such as analytics, lists, calendars, and posts, is also not something the Basic tier can manage, meaning you’ll need to go for Standard or above if those workflows sound important.

Custom branding, something big organizations will surely want, is limited to only the most expensive Premium plan. Users can utilize a branded subdomain, custom favicon, and a custom logo as part of this feature set.

To close out this section, Loomly also offers access to over five million royalty-free images and videos, plus daily post inspiration to get the ideas flowing.

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ANALYTICS AND REPORTING

Given that keeping track is one of, if not the main reason to use social media management platforms, this section might be the most important, depending on your organization, of course.

Loomly tracks a lot. Post-performance can be measured in real time across every single major social network, labels are available to help measure campaigns, and users can schedule analytics reports at regular intervals to help keep things under control.

The main aim is to help users get a better understanding of what’s working and, importantly, what’s not: not every post will be a smash hit, but over time you’ll be able to build up a knowledge of what works.

Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (or Twitter) all get the detailed analytics treatment, with granular insights into how posts are performing, and the ability to create new posts to “mimic” those. Having everything in one place makes life so much easier, too.

Finally, Loomly offers loom.ly domains for its clients, helping you get additional data on who is opening your links, when, where, and why. It’s a neat little addition.

USER INTERFACE

For our money, Loomly has one of the best UIs out there when it comes to social media managers: everything is in the right place and easy to use, even advanced features and settings.

The company recently redesigned many of its core features to make everything that much smoother based on customer feedback and it’s made a huge difference.

A great example is the rebuilt Post Builder, which, as you can imagine, is one of the main places you’ll be hanging out in the app. Loomly worked on reducing the number of steps to create content, such as by introducing collapsable post ideas, the ability to close content, and new ways to label different pieces of work.

Loomly’s ultimate goal is actually to automate much of your workflow – part of the reason there is a focus on mimicking older posts – and that bleeds into how you spend time actually using the app. Unlike some rivals, Loomly almost wants you to spend less time on there, or at least doing boring tasks.

As the company says of its website: organize away the chaos. By making Loomly your creative and organization hub for all things social media, life becomes a bit simpler.

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SUPPORT

As you might expect, support is handled very well, from the most basic to specific customer-by-customer help. Loomly publishes a blog, YouTube tutorials, and much more to answer many of the most basic questions.

On top of these, Loomly also publishes webinars and hosts specific courses to help users make the most of its powerful software. That’s the thing, ultimately: Loomly wants users to get the absolute best bang for their buck.

We found the Help Center to be super useful for answering some early questions, and in fact it helped point us towards some things we didn’t immediately know about before, which in turn helped improve our workflows.

As mentioned above, big enterprise clients are assigned a specific account manager to help them out in whatever way is necessary.

THE COMPETITION

As we said above, TechRadar has spent many hours assessing the best social media management tools and found that SEMrush actually ranks the highest because it also includes an SEO management platform, plus the usual features, making it an ideal one-stop shop for everything your business needs online.

Hootsuite works the best for tracking analytics, although there is an over-arching focus on Twitter (or X), while Sprout Social ranks the highest for actually creating and posting content to the platforms.

Buffer offers great post tracking tools, on top of a great all-round platform, and Hubspot is amazing for automating workflows. Meanwhile, Circleboom has an OpenAI integration that can suggest posts, which is very high tech.

Basically, Loomly has a lot of competition! But don’t let that dissuade you: if anything, the abundance of quality social media managers means that your organization is the winner, being able to choose exactly the software that fits the specific need of the business.

We’ve also featured best content marketing tool of 2024

FINAL VERDICT

The bit you’ve all been waiting for. Loomly offers a great all-round package of social media manager tools in one place, designed with the current landscape in mind and offering generous benefits across all of its tiers.

While some of its rivals might be more powerful in absolute terms (more features, and so on), what Loomly offers is a really friendly UI that takes only a moment to understand, underpinned by a powerful suite of tools that aids with every step of the process, from post creating to scheduling and managing your colleagues.

Campaign tracking is up there with the best, too, with the focus being on Loomly’s calendar feature, which helps you and your coworkers be on the same page.

Working in social media can sometimes feel repetitive, and so automation is key to fighting that and at least remove some of the most tedious parts of setting up posts.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, there’s even a 15-day free trial on most plans.

So, to summarise, we recommend Loomly to a forward-looking business that wants the absolute best of social media management with all of the modern twists.

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Circleboom Review https://reviewproducts.net/circleboom-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/circleboom-review/#respond Sat, 13 Apr 2024 16:00:09 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=656 Circleboom Review Create AI social media posts across major platforms Circleboom is fantastic for anyone who wants the very best social media management tools without breaking the bank. With a simple UI and tons of features, Circleboom stands alongside Hootsuite and its rivals. While the cheaper tiers are sometimes light on features, the medium and ... Read more

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Circleboom Review

Create AI social media posts across major platforms

Circleboom is fantastic for anyone who wants the very best social media management tools without breaking the bank. With a simple UI and tons of features, Circleboom stands alongside Hootsuite and its rivals. While the cheaper tiers are sometimes light on features, the medium and high tiers are reasonably priced, and Circleboom often has a deal on the go.

Pros

  • +Simple to use and easy to get to grips with
  • +Powerful features
  • +Lots of pricing tiers
  • +ChatGPT integration

Cons

  • -Competitors offer more features for basic tiers
  • -24 hour support is limited to higher tiers

Circleboom is one of the most exciting entrants into the best social media management tools since its 2019 launch. Alongside the likes of Hootsuite and Buffer, Circleboom stands up as one of the more complete and comprehensive platforms, especially for managing Twitter (or X) accounts.

Almost every modern company engages with social media in some form, whether to hear from customers, solicit new business, or tell users about something new, and that makes managing those channels a high priority task.

Gone are the days when companies had a blog, updated whenever there was a new announcement, replaced by an ability to have more insight into users and readership than ever before, across an array of platforms that reach more people than ever in human history.

For Circleboom, the goal is to make intuitive and easy-to-use products, mostly focused on managing Twitter accounts and publishing across social media. The service isn’t focused on adding tons of random features, just offering the best.

Sign up for a Circleboom plan

Circleboom boasts that it offers the “most intuitive” social media management tool and, after using the service, it’s hard to disagree. While some competitors offer a much wider variety of different dials and knobs, Circleboom delivers on the basics (with some advanced features sprinkled in).

Combine that with some really reasonable pricing – as little as $210 per month for large enterprise customers, and much less for smaller businesses – and you get a very compelling offering.

Let’s dive into our Circleboom social media management review.

CIRCLEBOOM: PLANS AND PRICING

Circleboom splits its offering into two sections: Twitter Management, focused on Twitter (or now X) as the name implies, and Publish, which lets users design, plan, and automate their posts across a ton of platforms.

Starting with the X-focused offering, there is a very limited free offering that mostly serves to promote the other offerings. We’ll break down each plan and what it offers.

Limited Plan: mostly for tweet and like deletion, costing $9.99 per month

Pro: offering the basic set of features, like Follower Insights, Tracking, and other analytics, with support for accounts up to 25,000 followers, costing $16.99 per month

Plus: the most popular plan, which has all of the benefits of Pro plus dedicated 24/7 support, two accounts, and up to 100,000 followers, costing $23.99 per month

Premium: everything above plus support for 1 million followers and 150 account/keyword searches per month, costing $29.99 per month

(On top of these tiers, users can also pay an extra $1.99 per month for X unfollower notifications.)

The more advanced Publish option follows a fairly similar pattern to the Twitter-focused tool, except for higher prices due to the expanded nature of its features.

Pro: up to five social accounts, 300 scheduled posts, standard support, and ChatGPT integration for $24.99 per month

Premium: up to 10 accounts, unlimited posts, and ChatGPT for $34.99 per month

Business: up to 30 social accounts, unlimited posts, ChatGPT, and 24/7 support for $79.99 per month

Enterprise: up to 100 accounts, unlimited posts, and more for $209.99 per month.

For more details on the pricing and to find the best tier for your organisation, head to Circleboom. Right now, the company is offering money off many of its plans when you pay annually, so keep that in mind, especially if you’re thinking about Circleboom for a larger business.

CIRCLEBOOM: FEATURES

Circleboom covers a lot of ground for many of the key tools of social media management. Creating, scheduling, and managing posts is really easy and comes as part of all of the tiers except the most basic Limited Plan.

Analytics, follower tracking, advanced search, deleting tweets or posts, and a lot more comes as standard on most of the plans, too. Twitter Management is also handily available via an iOS app, for on the go tweeting, although the Publish suite requires a web browser.

On top of that, the Publish tool offers OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI smarts to create social media posts – which can then be vetted by humans before reaching the real world. Circleboom includes AI integrations in the cheapest level of Publish, too.

According to the company, support for TikTok is on the horizon, meaning you can easily measure your audience and post to the it-platform of the moment. There is already support for LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other platforms.

Because of the focus on a simple and understandable UI, Circleboom really excels on the basics and we had no trouble managing our accounts via the platform. Everything worked smoothly.

But what about when you needs get a bit more complicated?

If you’re a social media professional then deleting posts, checking analytics, and so on are things you can do in your sleep. You want more!

Luckily, Circleboom delivers when it comes to adding a ton of really technical features for managing the minutiae of the social media world. For this part, we’ll mostly focus on Publish, the more advanced of the two.

Let’s reel off some features: a Canva design tool, image and gif creation tools, advanced Instagram features (including Reels support, a hashtag generator, tagging, and AI content generation), a similar set of features for Facebook, X polls, LinkedIn document posts, advanced Pinterest posts, and “best time to post” features.

There’s a huge amount there and we recommend checking out Circleboom’s own list to see if your specific niche has been catered too. Suffice to say, whether you want to share insights on LinkedIn or corporate outtakes on TikTok, Circleboom has you covered.

One thing that’s worth repeating is the addition of OpenAI-powered smarts, which could make a big difference, especially if your social media department is small (or even a single person). Having a way to test ideas and concepts, and everything else we know AI can do, could prove to be an edge in 2024.

We’ve also listed Best content calendar software of 2024

CIRCLEBOOM: ANALYTICS AND REPORTING

The higher your tier goes the more choices of analytics tools there will be, but all of the plans come with the absolute basics of follower counts, suspected fake/spam followers, unfollower alerts, and similar insights for friends.

Users can also track follower growth, characteristics, language stats, gender stats, how each post is performing, and see the best time to tweet. Circleboom will also generate an interest cloud for your followers and create reports on rival accounts.

What you’re looking for will be different from company to company, but it’s highly like that Circleboom will have you covered on some level.

We’ve also listed Best online marketing service of 2024

CIRCLEBOOM: USER INTERFACE

This, really, is the big one for Circleboom: the website screams at every opportunity that their tool is an “intuitive and easy-to-use social media product”, created with a “keep it simple” mindset, a focus on intuitive design, and only adding features that are deemed essential.

Now, for the most hard-core user, that might not sound ideal, but for everyone else, especially those who want an easy way to just get on with social media without having to invest too much time, Circleboom is really, really good.

All of the various widgets and dials are well thought-out and, importantly, in obvious places around the user interface. I never found myself having to search for too long to find something specific, which is somewhat rare among its competitors.

CIRCLEBOOM: SUPPORT

Circleboom offers dedicated support but only for its more expensive plans, starting at the Premium plan for Publish and Plus for Twitter Management. What you get is high quality 24 hour phone and video support, helping solve most problems.

The company also publishes an extensive help section on its website, with a ton of different details from the very nooks and crannies of its app. Anything you’re unsure about will likely be covered there. You can, of course, also get in touch with Circleboom directly about any issues.

We’ve also listed Best SEO tool of 2024

CIRCLEBOOM: THE COMPETITION

While Hootsuite, for example, offers some of the most complex and detailed features for any of the apps, as do Buffer and Zoho Social, there is a beauty to the simplicity and ease with which you can use Circleboom.

We’ve taken an extensive look at the best social media management tools going right now, comparing them across a huge array of categories, so check that out if Circleboom didn’t quite scratch your itch.

CIRCLEBOOM: FINAL VERDICT

There’s a reason that NBC News, Netflix, BBC News, SoundCloud, the American Red Cross, L’Oreal, and a ton of other big-name companies use Circleboom: ease, efficiency, and integration across an array of apps.

The addition of AI-generated posting options via ChatGPT is really exciting and will give social media managers a new way to brainstorm ideas and concepts. All of the basics are there, too, from detailed analytics to support for all major services.

Big companies will definitely want to consider the more expensive, fully featured plans but we feel like there’s a level for everyone, and Circleboom is running some very exciting promo deals for many of its tiers, so don’t wait too long.

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Videoleap Review https://reviewproducts.net/videoleap-review/ https://reviewproducts.net/videoleap-review/#respond Fri, 12 Apr 2024 16:00:39 +0000 https://reviewproducts.net/?p=661 Videoleap Review Give your video projects the AI wow factor Videoleap is a good mobile video editor which stands out from the crowd with interesting, fun, and well integrated AI tools, which can help make your projects stand out. Well worth exploring if you’re in the market for something fresh and new. Pros +Great integration ... Read more

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Videoleap Review

Give your video projects the AI wow factor

Videoleap is a good mobile video editor which stands out from the crowd with interesting, fun, and well integrated AI tools, which can help make your projects stand out. Well worth exploring if you’re in the market for something fresh and new.

Pros

  • +Great integration with AI tools
  • +Good interface
  • +Fun to use

Cons

  • -Yet another subscription to pay for
  • -Mobile and tablet versions offer different project size options
  • -AI voice wants money to work
  • -The app wants to track you

Lightricks make a couple of interesting AI-laden apps for your mobile or tablet device, including a photo editing app called Photoleap, and Videoleap, a simple-to-use video editing app for your mobile. We’ve tested quite a few of the best video editing apps, and we have to say – this one is more fun to use than you might think.

You can try Videoleap by clicking here

VIDEOLEAP: PRICING & PLANS

Why would developers of a video editor want to track your activity outside of the app?

Another subscription to pay for, but at least you can choose to pay for the product outright too if you want

There is a free version of the app, but as you’d expect, its best features, effects and tools are kept behind a paywall. You can however try out everything Videoleap has to offer free for seven days, but that will mean you agreeing to a subscription after the trial period, so don’t forget to cancel if you decide this app isn’t for you. But why does this app want to track your usage on other apps and websites?

You can opt for a monthly or annual subscription – but the monthly payments are quite a bit steeper compared to the yearly equivalent if you pay in full. But, like the more pro-focused app LumaFusion, you have the option to pay a one-off cost and own Videoleap forever. Unlike LumaFusion, it’s about double the price.

You do need to log in with your Facebook account, Apple or Google ID, but if you’d rather keep all of that separate, they do accept you using your email address instead.

Pricing & plans:3/5

VIDEOLEAP: OUR EXPERIENCE

Videoleap has plenty of eye-catching templates for you to use

A good video editor with interesting and original AI integration.

We found the app very easy to use. You’re restricted to the portrait orientation when working on a phone, but we found a tablet offers more flexibility, letting you work in either position. On a phone, any new project takes on the dimension of the initial clip you add to it, so make sure you use the right one first to match the style you’re after. The tablet version offers you aspect ratio options by default.

Considering the limitations of a mobile device, editing works very well, with elegant support for touch gestures. The icons are small but big enough to handle on a small screen. You have the main preview window that takes up most of the interface, beneath that is your timeline, which you can zoom in and out effortlessly through touch commands, and at the bottom, your various tools.

Like many of the best video editing software for beginners we’ve looked at, you’ll find good in-app support. If you get lost, or are unsure what to do, the help button (top left) will give you various examples of what’s possible, from the basic to the advanced, through a series of simple animations.

If you’re not sure what to do, the Help section will inspire you

Our experience: 4/5

VIDEOLEAP: FEATURES

The video AI Filters are impressive and a lot of fun – but they take a while to render

AI Filters and Uncrop are the standouts of this app and are great fun to use

Videoleap’s biggest standout is the AI integration. You’ll find it in many of its tools, such as ‘AI Image’, which is the – mostly traditional by now – text field where you write what you want to see, and end up with various results, which you can expand on until you find the perfect image for you. But that’s not all, there’s AI Recolour too. There’s also AI Voice which we gather allows you to use your voice to create an AI counterpart. Sounds fun, but after having spent a while talking to it, you’re then asked for money to save the result. Hardly the friendliest of interfaces.

One great AI feature is ‘Uncrop’. With it, the app will expand an image beyond its boundaries, based on the content of the image itself. It’s actually great fun to use, but it doesn’t work with video, or we should say, it only works on a clip’s first frame. It’s brilliant with photos, and you can then use the app’s keyframes to zoom in or out of this AI expansion over time. But we really enjoyed using AI Filters, which alter a photo or video (with the version 2 options) for some genuinely impressive and fun changes.

SHOULD I BUY?

Editing is clean, simple, and well implemented

BUY IT IF…

You’re looking for a video editor that’s easy to use with clever AI integration.

DON’T BUY IT IF…

You don’t want to pay for yet another subscription, and wish more tools were on offer for free.

HOW WE TESTED VIDEOLEAP

We installed the app both on a phone and a tablet, and tried it out for several hours, using our experience in video editing to put it through its paces, as we created a few projects and checked how easy – or frustrating – it was to work with, all while exploring the original features which caught our eye.

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