Asus ROG Delta S Wireless: One-minute review

On one hand, the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless may not appeal to a lot of people, looks-wise. It’s sadly a bit plain-looking. And, despite Asus going for that gamer aesthetic, it also looks a little dated, especially compared to its peers, many of which now sport sleeker, more modern designs.

On the other hand, you might just start to like it once you put it on and listen to what it can do, audio-wise. This is a very comfortable gaming headset that delivers a decently balanced and spacious sound. It comes with its share of snazzy touches — such as its USB-C (not USB Type A) transmitter and a garage to put that transmitter away so you don’t lose it. And, if you’re a fan of wireless gaming headsets like us, you probably know the pain of losing a USB wireless transmitter all too well!

But then, one look at that price tag of $199.99 / £159.99 / AU$329 might put you off again, as it is a little steep for what the headset offers. It’s nice-sounding and very comfortable, but unfortunately, in that price range, there are superior options.

Do I like the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless enough to recommend it to most gamers? It’s a bit of a head-scratcher if I’m being honest.

Asus ROG Delta S Wireless: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $199.99 / £159.99 / AU$329
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, the UK, and Australia

The Asus ROG Delta S Wireless isn’t exactly a cheap gaming headset. At $199.99 / £159.99 / AU$329, it sits in the same price range as the much-lauded SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless ($179.99 / £174.99 / A$399), which delivers far superior audio and a much more appealing design. 

For what it offers, I’m not sure I’d be willing to spend that much on the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless. It is incredibly comfortable and it’s also versatile. But so are other wireless gaming headsets, some of which, like the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless, deliver better sound quality. 

The good news is that it’s available in the US, UK, and Australia, which means you can easily get it if you decide you want it.

• Value: 3 / 5

Asus ROG Delta S Wireless: Design

• Unappealing gaming headset design
• Very comfortable and fairly lightweight
• USB-C wireless receiver garage on the right earcup

I’m not big into that old-school gamer aesthetic ruled by chunky ear cups and mostly black finish. What’s more, the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless is pretty plain-looking, which prevents it from standing out. However, I do appreciate Asus’ slightly different take on the aesthetic. It gave this gaming headset D-shaped — D for Delta — ear cups and pads. 

That shape does make the gaming headset feel comfortable, although it already holds its own in comfort thanks to its soft headband foam, fairly lightweight design at 318g, and plush one-inch-thick ear pads. Even though the ear foam pads are thick, they contour to the side of your head, ensuring that the sound won’t bleed out and there’s enough passive noise cancellation when you need to focus. 

Even though they are bigger than the average gaming headset ear cup, the ear cups on the ROG Delta S Wireless have enough swivel to fit most heads and for effortless storage. The headset comes with two sets of ear pads — a pair made of 100% protein leather and a pair made of breathable mesh-type fabric that Asus calls ROG Hybrid.

Not only is it very comfortable to wear for hours, but it’s got a lot of staying power. There isn’t too much clamping force, but enough to stay in place. I danced while wearing this headset, and it held well — even during the occasional head-banging.

There are three controls on hand: a volume dial that moonlights as a mic mute button when pressed, a switch that lets you toggle between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz or turn the headset off completely, and a multi-function media button. With this button, you can press once to play/pause, twice to move to the next track, thrice to go back to the previous track, or press and hold for Bluetooth pairing.

A nice touch that isn’t common with current gaming headset models is the USB-C wireless receiver, which has its own garage on the right ear cup of the headset. I’m constantly losing wireless receivers, so this is definitely a welcome thoughtful extra.

Asus gives you a bit more control over the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless via its Armoury Crate software. This offers an intuitive interface and extensive controls to allow you to turn on AI Noise Cancellation, switch audio profiles, and change other settings.

• Design: 4 / 5

Asus ROG Delta S Wireless: Performance

• Decently balanced audio
• Spacious audio for a wider soundstage
• Good battery life

If you’re looking for a gaming headset with a decently balanced sound, you’ll want to check out the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless. There’s not much bass extension here to provide a whole lot of rumble during game battles, but it has a decent mid-bass that does a good job of filling in the bass frequency. Meanwhile, the highs sound full with the mid-highs helping vocals sound richer. And, it delivers spacious audio, which gives it a wider soundstage.

Don’t expect top-notch sound, however. The mids are recessed and somewhat polite sounding, and the audio isn’t the most detailed. Also, due to the spacious audio, everything might sound far away. So, instead of being immersed in the action, it will feel like you’re in the middle of a concert hall watching it.

This gaming headset isn’t great for most music except acoustic. Games like Control sound better, but there’s not a lot of that low-end rumble that gamers crave, and again, it sounds a bit polite, which isn’t what you want when battling monsters. 

The mic is a massive miss, sadly. Not only is the noise cancellation only available via the software, but your voice will sound compressed and a little distorted via the 2.4GHz receiver, and quieter and even more distorted via Bluetooth. If you were to choose the right connection for chatting with your teammates, I’d go with the wireless one because at least your voice will come across upfront and clear.

The battery life is a bit of an improvement, thankfully. A full charge should give you 25 hours of use, which means you can play eight hours a day for three days without needing to juice up — though, to be honest, since there isn’t any RGB lighting here, I expected it to be longer. At least, it’s got fast charging capabilities, and it automatically turns off within five minutes of inactivity, which should help you conserve power.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

Asus ROG Delta S Wireless: Report card

• First reviewed January 2022

How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

The Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow is almost too pretty to put a pillowcase on top of it. The boxy shape stands out in a crowded field of pillows that tend to look the same. But this is more than just a uniquely-shaped pillow – it’s also quite functional. Made of an AirFoam blend that’s designed to be responsive and provide gentle contouring, the pillow can comfortably support your head and neck, while relieving pressure. On the firmness scale, it’s a medium – but on the softer side of medium. The AirFoam material is temperature-neutral, so it won’t trap heat. In addition, the zippable cover is washable and makes the pillow easy to care for.

We slept on a pair of Nolah Cooling Foam Pillows for over two weeks to see how they would compare to the rest of the best pillows on the market.

Our full Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow review is below so you can see how we tested it – and then decide whether it will meet your needs or not.  And if you want to boost your sleep comfort further, take a look at our guide to the best mattress for all budgets.   

Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow Review in Brief

The Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow is a rather luxurious choice that reminds us of sleeping at a hotel or resort. The boxy shape immediately stands out, and honestly, we were in no hurry to put pillowcases on top of the pillows and hide the stylish design and piping trim surrounding the pillow.

Using AirFoam, which is Nolah’s proprietary polyfoam, the pillow is designed to be temperature neutral, so it stays cool while you’re sleeping. In addition to cooling features, it’s a contouring pillow, so it can provide support for your head and neck. The medium density – on the softer side – provides the right level of support to make it a great choice for back sleepers, although it can also be used by side and stomach sleepers. 

And even though the pillow contours to your head and neck, it also springs back to its original shape, so you won’t have to worry about the pillow sagging and needing to be refluffed every morning.  

It’s not one of those pillows that you can unzip and then add or remove fill as desired. Also, it doesn’t come in different loft sizes (low-loft, mid-lift, or high-loft) – although we would consider this a high loft pillow – and it may be too high for petite sleepers. In addition, it doesn’t come in both standard and king sizes like some other pillows.

However, the pillow has a zip closure, which serves three purposes. First, it’s made of cotton infused with Outlast fiber, which keeps you from sweating. The cover also helps to keep the pillow clean, and since the cover can be removed and easily laundered, it also makes the pillow easy to care for.

Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow review: price and deals

• One of the two top of the line pillows
• Currently on sale for $20 off
• Includes a 30 day trial and a 2-year warranty

Nolah sells three types of pillows, and the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow is one of the two top of the line choices. A queen size pillow retails for $99.

The Nolah Squishy Pillow, which also has a MSRP of $99, has a more traditional shape, and is filled with removable foam, so you can increase or decrease the pillow’s loft. On the other hand, the Nolah AirFiber Pillow, which retails for $79/Sale $69, and also has a traditional shape, is made of a down-alternative AirFiber and also has an active cooling cover. All of the pillows are only available in queen sizes.

Compared to other pillows on the market, the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow is considered a luxury pillow choice. It’s less expensive than the Layla Kapok Pillow, which is $109 for a queen size option – and that pillow also comes in a king size.  The Layla has memory foam blended with kapok fiber and is designed to have a down-like feel. Also, the microbial copper-infused cover is designed to be breathable. The Layla also has adjustable fill that can be added or removed, which makes it more customizable – and the pillow has a 5 year warranty. However, the cover is not washable, which makes it more difficult to clean the pillow.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for something less expensive, the Beckham Hotel Collection Gel Pillow is only $59 for a two pack, making it an excellent choice for budget-conscious consumers.  The pillow is available in both queen and king sizes, and has a gel fiber filling. It can also be machine washed and tumbled dry, which makes it even easier to care for than the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow. However, it doesn’t have any cooling properties, and there’s no warranty provided.  

Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow review: design and materials

• Supportive and comfortable
• Temperature neutral AirFoam
• Temperature-regulating Outlast fibers

The Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow has an unusual and attractive design that makes it look luxurious. Beyond first appearances, we were pleased to see that the pillow is made of AirFoam, which is free from the viscoelastic chemicals often found in foam pillows. The AirFoam contours to the user’s body and provides pressure relief. The foam also has perforations that make the material breathable and temperature neutral.

The pillow’s cover also has cooling features. It combines cotton with Outlast fibers that absorb and release heat, which regulates temperature all night as you sleep.

Our tester tends to sleep hot – and under a weighted blanket - and found that the perforations in the foam, combined with the fibers in the cover, definitely played a role in her ability to sleep cool and avoid waking up feeling like she’s just gotten off her treadmill. 

The pillow doesn’t come in a choice of lofts, but our tester found the higher loft comfortable. Petite sleepers may find it too cushy to provide the right level of support.

The pillow has a cotton cover, which keeps the pillow clean. And since the cover zips off, it’s also easy to remove and wash the cover in warm water and then put in the dryer on the tumble-dry setting. 

Our tester only had one problem with the design: there’s a Nolah emblem on the front of the pillow, and then a Nolah tag on the side, and then the “official” pillow tag on the side. It feels like the Nolah emblem and tag were a bit of overkill.

Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow review: performance

• Contouring feature fits like a soft glove
• Provides pressure relief
• Temperature regulation

For over two weeks, we slept on a pair of the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillows, and tested them for performance in key areas, such as support, comfort, and temperature regulation.  We also slept in various positions to see if the results were the same each time. Here’s how we got on...   

Setup 

4.5 out of 5

A pair of Nolah Cooling Foam Pillows arrived in a rather beat-up shipping box but thankfully the pillows were individually wrapped in plastic so they were intact. Some companies, like Casper, include individual boxes inside of the shipping box, but we’re not taking points off because Nolah didn’t.

Since the pillows were shipped full-size, we didn’t have to go through an unfolding and expansion process. We merely needed to take the pillows out of the plastic and place them on the bed. 

While off-gassing is a problem with some foam-based bedding items, we didn’t experience that problem with these pillows. Nolah even included an instruction sheet (it was generic and for pillows and mattress toppers), which warned that we might notice a distinct scent typically associated with new foam, and recommended allowing the product to air out by itself in a well-ventilated space for at least 24 hours. We left the pillows alone for a day just to be on the safe side, but again, we (thankfully) did not experience any off-gassing smells.

Temperature regulation

5 out of 5

There were no hot nights (well, not that type of hot night) with the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillows. For over 2 weeks, we are happy to report that the pillows did an excellent temperature-regulation job. They weren’t “cool to the touch,” per se, but never claimed to be. The pillows were temperature-neutral, meaning they didn’t get hot like many foam pillows do.

The AirFoam, which has perforations throughout, kept the pillows from trapping heat. Instead, the pillows remained breathable. The cover, which is made of cotton, and includes Outlast fibers (which are also temperature-regulating) also contributed to the lack of heat while sleeping. 

Firmness and support 

5 out of 5

The Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow is a high-loft model that was not too soft and not too firm. It’s in the medium range, but on that scale, it was closer to soft than to firm. Our tester thought it provided the right level of support and comfort regardless of the position.

When sleeping on our back, the contouring pillow was ergonomic enough to keep the head and neck in alignment, preventing neck and shoulder pain. We slept deeply since there was no tossing and turning.

However, when sleeping on the side and even face down, the pillow still maintained its contouring features and was soft yet supportive.

Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow review: user reviews

In addition to our experience with the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow, we also looked through user reviews from customers.

Nolah is not on Amazon. However, the pillow has a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Nolah’s website. Customers in various age groups, who slept on their side, back, and stomach called it a great pillow that was comfortable, and stated that it was supportive. Many stated that they slept better and no longer had aches and pains when they woke up. We did find a handful of reviews from people who stated that they returned the pillow – but didn’t say why, and noted that Nolah’s customer service was excellent during the return process.

Should you buy the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow?

We tested the Nolah Cooling Foam Pillow for over two weeks, and we were very pleased with the results. The stylish design is just one of the reasons we like it.

The combination of contouring and support make it a good choice for back sleepers in particular, but we found it comfortable in every position. The AirFoam also made it a temperature-regulating pillow that kept us cool and comfortable as we slept. The Outlast fibers in the cotton pillow cover only add to this cooling effect.

However, we know that consumers have different preferences. So, one alternative is the Layla Kapok Pillow, which provides more customization since the fill is adjustable, so you can unzip the pillow cover and then add or remove the fill to your heart’s desire. Another choice is the Purple Harmony Pillow, which is available in three different heights: low, medium, and tall, so you can choose the exact one that’s best for your needs.

However, the Nolah Foam Pillow, while being a luxury choice, is certainly not as expensive as many competitors, and is a good choice for a good-looking pillow that provides contouring, support, comfort, and temperature regulation.

One minute review

The Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock is another offering from Kryptonite, a respected cycle accessory brand and maker of some of the best bike locks around. The main bonus with the 685 is the foldout design, which collapses into a sturdy block when you’re not using it and can be stored on your bike frame thanks to a handy mounting bracket-cum-holder. 

Once extended, the Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock offers lots of reach and can be manipulated through wheels of all shapes and sizes and around something else too, like a lamppost. The locking barrel is very nicely engineered and, as a whole, this is a super sturdy bike lock. 

Kryptonite’s 6/10 ‘moderate’ security rating claims it will withstand most bolt cutters and be ideal for suburban areas, but may eventually yield to serious theft attempts with tools such as an angle grinder.

Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock: Price and availability

The Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock is available to buy right now from all major cycle accessory specialists and online outlets, including Amazon, starting from $74.95 in the US, £50.74 in the UK, and AU$149.95 in Australia. 

One of the additional benefits of buying a Kryptonite cycle lock is its Key Safe program, which means you can register with the company and they can help replace any keys should you end up losing the originals.

Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock: Design

• 85cm lock reach
• Heavy duty barrel lock
• Fully foldable

The Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock is just that: a bike lock that is designed a little like a concertina. When it arrives in its packaging, the lock is condensed into a chunky block of alloy and steel weighing in at 1.31kg. Remove it from the packaging though and you can easily open up the Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock to reveal its full potential. The design is one of the main bonus factors, especially if you regularly need a little more freedom with your cycle lock.

Some bike likes, particularly those of the D-lock style, are often a little short on coverage, meaning they’re great for putting around a wheel and frame, but little else. The Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock on the other hand extends up to 85cm, thanks to its concertina design and this allows it to reach much further. This is hugely practical if you want to harness your bike to railings, a lamp post or, indeed, other bikes.

Kryptonite has done a great job with the locking barrel part of the design equation here too. It’s very chunky, there are two keys and the mechanism is both easy to access and works smoothly too. The 5cm-thick folding sections of the lock are top-notch quality too, although the hardened steel surface of the component pieces is less forgiving on bike frames than some other locks. It’s a factor that’s worth bearing in mind if you prize the paintwork on your bike or have a brand new cycle to fret about.

• Design score: 3/5

Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock: Features

• Collapses for storage
• Mounting bracket included
• Two-key barrel lock

One of the great things about locks in the Kryptonite range is that the lively yellow and black packaging always shows the security rating of the product. In the case of the Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock, it gets a 6/10, with a rating of '1' being a mild deterrant and '10' being as safe as houses, even for densely-populated urban areas. 

6/10 is classed as ‘moderate’, which means it’s more than adequate for everyday use in rural, suburban and most urban environments, but not be quite as useful if you’re planning on locking it up overnight in an area known for effective, well-armed bike thieves. 

The fold-out design is actually one of the key features of this lock, as it delivers a lot more flexibility in terms of reach, right up to 85cm. That aspect could also make it quite awkward for any cycle thief to get a grip on as the sections move around so easily. Granted, the lock would probably succumb to an angle grinder, but seems well-placed to fend off bolt cutters. 

The other key feature of the Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock is that it comes complete with a plastic mounting block, which can be fixed to your bike frame and acts like a holster for the lock when you’re on the go. It’s nicely made and will fit to a bike frame without causing harm to the paintwork and certainly less scratching than you’d get from simply harnessing the lock around your bike. 

A couple of keys for undoing the lock barrel are supplied as standard and Kryptonite has a Key Safe program, which means they can replace any that get lost following their registration process. A definite bonus!

• Features score: 3/5

Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock: Performance

• Positive locking performance
• Extra reach is a real boon
• No play in the multiple components

Using the Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock on a daily basis is easy enough, although initially it feels like a bit of a handful as you try and tame all of the connecting sections. These are connected with a steel rivet-style system, and thankfully there’s no play between the links. 

How they fare over time and with increased use will be interesting to see, as locks like this can have the habit of becoming a little loose over time. In fact, some of these concertina-style locks can become downright floppy with prolonged use, but so far, so good.

Once you’ve worked out the best way to snake the sections through your frame or wheels and, say, a lamppost the lock is easily joined up and locked thanks to that chunky barrel. The locking action feels good and solid, while the two keys are sizeable enough to you can keep then in a coat pocket or in a bag without them disappearing as can happen with some locks that come with dinky keys.

• Performance score: 4/5

Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock: Buy it if...

Kryptonite KryptoLok 685 Folding Lock: Don't buy it if...

 First reviewed December 2022 

SendGrid was founded in 2009 by three entrepreneurs; Isaac Saldana, Jose Lopez, and Tim Jenkins. The company was incubated through the famous TechStars accelerator program. It provides a cloud-based service for businesses to send marketing and transactional emails to their subscribers. The platform handles the backend processes involved in sending emails, e.g., ISP monitoring and domain keys, while users interact with the easy parts. 

SendGrid is a freemium tool, meaning it has both free and paid versions of its email marketing service. By 2012, three years after its founding, SendGrid announced that it was working with 60,000 businesses and had sent over 45 billion emails. By 2017, the company was processing over 30 billion emails per month. 

In 2019, Twilio, a well-known cloud communications firm, paid $2 billion to acquire SendGrid and the company was renamed Twilio SendGrid. Since the change of ownership, there has been a significant uptick in complaints about slow customer support. 

SendGrid: Plans and pricing

SendGrid offers a free plan but with limited features. The free tier supports a maximum of 6,000 emails per month and 2,000 contacts. You’ll need to purchase a premium plan to use this platform best. 

There are two premium plans; Basic and Advanced. Basic stats at $15 / £15 / AUD$25 per month for up to 7,000 contacts and 15,000 monthly emails, while Advanced starts at $60 / £60 / AUD$90 per month for 15,000 contacts and 45,000 monthly emails. The price scales according to the number of contacts and emails. For example, 30,000 contacts and 80,000 monthly emails will cost $50 / £45 / AUD$75 per month on the Basic plan and $100 / £90 / AUD$150 on the Advanced plan. 

According to SendGrid’s website, it offers refunds to customers that meet specific criteria but we observed a pattern of customer complaints of refunds being hard to get.

SendGrid: Features

Email Templates

It’s challenging for an average user to create email messages that are visually appealing and would entice customers. To make it easier, SendGrid provides a collection of email templates designed by professionals. You can pick any of these templates and customize them to fit your brand. This way, you’ll be building on the work of marketing and design professionals to send effective email messages to your subscribers. 

This platform offers templates designed for a broad range of industries and use cases, so you'll likely find a fitting one regardless of what type of business you're engaged in. Afterward, you can customize the template with your logo, brand colors, and copy. You can also take advantage of the pre-built call-to-action buttons to drive engagement. You don't have to recreate email layouts whenever it's time to send an email because you can save a template and reuse it as many times as you want. 

Email Designs

If you have good design skills, you may not need pre-built templates. SendGrid lets you create email layouts from scratch using its editor. You can use the drag-and-drop function or HTML codes to edit your email layout. The drag-and-drop editor involves adding content modules into a plain interface that’ll constitute your email, and you can have a good feel of how the message will appear on a PC or mobile display. 

HTML lets you edit your emails in detail if you have good programming skills. The code editor feels like building a website from scratch, with syntax highlighting, error flagging, one-click scroll syncing, and other features that programmers are familiar with. You may decide to hire external programmers to build your email layout and simply copy and paste the code into SendGrid's editor.

Email automations

If you’re dealing with hundreds or thousands of contacts, you’ll need automation to make your work easier. SendGrid lets you set up automation triggers for personalized email marketing. For example, you can send an automatic welcome email to every person who signs up for your email list or follow-up messages to customers who purchased an item from your online store. The idea is that subscribers will get the intended marketing messages without your manual input. However, the full functionality of email automation is only available to premium users.

Reporting

It’s one thing to send email campaigns and another to monitor their performance to see if they’re delivering the intended results. SendGrid shows you statistics that lets you judge the performance of your email campaigns and determine whether to adjust or not. You can view critical metrics such as what percentage of your emails were delivered, the number of unique opens or clicks, bounce rate, unsubscribes, spam reports, etc.

You can monitor these metrics on your Email Activity feed. If you wish, you can export the reports as a CSV file to view them elsewhere.

Signup forms

SendGrid lets you create signup forms to gather email addresses. You can embed the forms on your website or use a landing page hosted by SendGrid. Any email address added to the form will be automatically added to your email list on SendGrid. You can include reCAPTCHA verification in the signup form to make sure that the email addresses are legit and not bots.  

You can customize your signup forms similar to how you'll customize an email template. You can use colors and styling that match your brand. You may choose to collect email addresses only or add fields for first and last names. The automation feature we've mentioned comes in handy here; once an address is added to your list, you can send a welcome message to introduce the customer to your brand and let them know what to expect from you. You may add a personal touch to the email by greeting customers by the name they provided on your form. 

List management

It's important to manage your email lists if you want to run effective marketing campaigns, and SendGrid provides tools to help you do that. You can use CSV uploads to add and update contacts. You can segment your email lists, as in separate them according to different factors e.g., age, nationality, etc., so that you can send more targeted campaigns. You can import data from elsewhere to create a full picture of each contact instead of having only their email addresses. 

Another important activity in managing your lists is to regularly clean them up by deleting inactive or dud email addresses. SendGrid's reports will let you know which addresses aren't interacting with your emails so that you can delete them and focus on the engaged subscribers. 

Dedicated IP addresses

You can pay for a dedicated IP address that you’ll use to send emails to subscribers. A dedicated IP address gives you full control over your sending reputation. If you follow all the recommended email practices, you'll likely have a favorable reputation with email providers, unlike with shared IP addresses where the activities of other users can harm the sending reputation. 

SendGrid: Interface and use

It’s pretty easy to sign up for SendGrid. Head to the official website and you can create an account using a valid email address. To set up your account, you'll need to provide some compulsory details like your first and last names, company name and website, and your role at the company.

One of the main benefits of using SendGrid is its intuitive and friendly user interface. All features are arranged neatly on the left side of the dashboard, and you can switch between different features with ease.  

SendGrid: Support

You can contact SendGrid’s support team through email, live chat, or telephone. Ever since Twilio acquired SendGrid in 2019, there has been an uptick in complaints about slow response times and inadequate support from users. It seems Twilio replaced SendGrid’s original support team with its own, which has been less efficient for customers.   

SendGrid: The competition

There’s an endless list of email marketing software similar to SendGrid. Mailchimp and Klaviyo are two popular rivals to SendGrid. Mailchimp is a more user-friendly and simpler tool than SendGrid and is also more affordable for users with a small number of subscribers. Klaviyo is an effective email marketing tool designed primarily for e-commerce store owners, while SendGrid is a general email marketing tool for different types of businesses.  

SendGrid: Final verdict

SendGrid is one of the most popular email marketing tools globally, unsurprisingly given its advanced features. It lets businesses set up and automate their email marketing activities with ease and frees up time to focus on other areas. It’s also an economical tool for brands with a high number of email subscribers. But, we observed some drawbacks like complaints of slow customer service and the automation tools not being easy to work with.  

We've listed the best online marketing services.

Klaviyo was founded in 2012 by two entrepreneurs, Ed Hallen and Andrew Bialecki, that decided to build a platform to make email marketing easier for online retailers. From its start, the company focused on building integrations with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, WooCommerce, etc. The extensive integrations enabled Klaviyo to build a big customer base in a relatively short period. 

Klaviyo has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists to fuel its growth. In August 2022, Shopify, the world's biggest e-commerce software vendor, named Klaviyo as its recommended email marketing partner and invested $100 million in the company. 

Over 100,000 e-commerce brands across the globe use Klaviyo for email and SMS marketing. The company employs over 1,000 people across the UK and the US, where it’s headquartered.

Klaviyo: Plans and pricing

Klaviyo is a freemium tool, meaning it has both free and premium plans. The free plan is pretty limited, supporting a maximum of 500 monthly emails to 250 contracts. You'll need a premium plan to make use of this platform best.

You can purchase a plan that gives you access to only email marketing tools or another that offers access to both email and SMS marketing tools. You'll pay monthly, and the price depends on the number of contacts you're dealing with. Email-only starts at $45 / £45 / AUD$65 monthly for between 1,000 to 1,500 contacts, while Email and SMS costs $60 / £60 / AUD$90 monthly for the same number of contacts.

To provide an example of the price increase according to the number of contacts, 5,000 to 5,500 contacts will cost $110 / £110 / AUD$165 monthly for email-only and $125 / £125 / AUD$195 monthly for both email and SMS. 10,000 to 10,500 contacts would cost $175 / £175 / AUD$265 monthly for email-only and $190 / £190 / AUD$275 monthly for email and SMS. Klaviyo is pretty costly for businesses dealing with a high number of contacts. 

Each plan gives a specific number of monthly SMS/MMS credits, and you can buy more if you surpass your limit. According to its terms of service, Klaviyo doesn't offer refunds after purchase. 

Klaviyo: Features

Email Marketing

There are over 4 billion active email users, making it one of the best mediums to reach customers. E-commerce brands use email to reach customers with their marketing campaigns and Klaviyo offers a platform to help them do that. You can deliver emails to all your contacts at the click of a button using the platform.

It can be challenging to create good email marketing copies, so Klaviyo offers a collection of pre-built templates designed by professionals to help users. You can choose any template and customize it to fit your brand. You can save it and reuse it as many times as you want. 

You can find over 100 templates for various use cases, e.g., newsletters, cross-selling, welcome messages, etc. You can also find templates for automated transactional emails like cart abandonment, back-in-stock updates, order and shipping updates, etc. This way, e-commerce brands don't need to stress themselves trying to build appealing email layouts from scratch.

Because your online store syncs directly with Klaviyo, the platform offers a unique email marketing feature called a dynamic product feed; you can send personalized product recommendations to each contact based on their previous interaction with your store, e.g., which product categories they browse often or their purchase history. Just drag and drop the dynamic product feed module into your email pane, and you’re good to go. This way, each contact will see different recommended products that they’re more likely to buy, a more effective marketing strategy than sending the same product recommendations to all contacts.  

Klaviyo also offers an artificial intelligence-powered tool that helps you create good email subject lines based on your brand, product, and the goals you indicate for your campaign. The subject line is the first thing the email recipient sees, so it has a big impact on your brand’s email open rate. 

SMS Marketing

There are over 5 billion SMS users globally, making it a marketing channel that’s hard to ignore. Klaviyo enables brands to send SMS campaigns to their customers with ease. You can send different types of messages, including product announcements, back-in-stock alerts, welcome offers, coupons, etc. Klaviyo lets you set up automated transactional messages like order and delivery confirmations. 

You can also hold two-way SMS conversations through Klaviyo. Hence, customers can contact you and get feedback from the same number you use to send them messages. You may adopt SMS as the customer support option for your e-commerce brand and respond to support inquiries via Klaviyo.

Reporting

It’s not enough to just run email or SMS marketing campaigns. You must monitor them regularly to ensure that they’re delivering the intended results and make adjustments if they aren’t. Klaviyo offers a dashboard that lets you monitor the performance of your campaigns without difficulty. You can view critical metrics like open rate, click-through rate, bounce rate, etc. You can view the total number of orders and corresponding revenue generated from your campaign, so it's easy to measure your return on investment. 

Klaviyo gives you all your campaign statistics in one report, so you don't even need to leave the screen you're working on. You can visualize the performance of your campaigns using charts, which makes the metrics easier to understand. You can also set a custom schedule to receive automated reports that you can share with employees or other stakeholders.

This platform offers dozens of pre-built reports that you can generate for your brand. For example, you can generate an average order value report or an abandoned cart rate report at the click of a button. These reports make it easy to monitor every aspect of your brand’s performance without stress.

Signup Forms

Before you start sending messages to email addresses and phone numbers, you’ll need to collect them. Sending messages to random addresses and numbers constitute spam, which you should avoid by all means. The good thing is that Klaviyo lets you create signup forms to collect email addresses and phone numbers so you can send marketing messages with consent. You can embed the form on your website, and any address added to it will automatically be added to your contact list on Klaviyo.

Klaviyo lets you customize the look of your forms to a large extent. For instance, you can make it a pop-up form, a fly-out, or a static form on your website. If it's a pop-up form, you can choose when to show it, e.g., 5 seconds after the page load or after scrolling 50% of the page. You can customize the colors of the form to fit your brand and website, making it more attractive to visitors. You can perform A/B testing with different styles of forms to see which one performs best and adopt that one.

Klaviyo: Interface and use

Signing up for Klaviyo is straightforward. You’ll need to provide some key details including your email address and phone number. After signing up, the onboarding process is also straightforward. You’ll need to connect your Klaviyo account with the platform hosting your e-commerce site (e.g., Shopify) and answer some questions such as your marketing goals and how many contacts you have. 

Klaviyo has an intuitive interface that felt easy to navigate. Features are neatly arranged on the left side of the dashboard, making it easy to switch between different ones. The slight drawback is that Klaviyo has many features, so you’ll need considerable time to get used to the platform.  

Klaviyo: Support

We observed a lot of complaints from customers regarding Klaviyo’s support. The platform provides direct support through email and live chat, and customers complained of long wait times for both of them. With no phone support and reported long wait times for live chat support, it seems that Klaviyo’s customers can hardly get an instant response to their queries.    

Klaviyo: The competition

One of Klaviyo’s most notable competitors is Omnisend, a similar platform designed for e-commerce businesses. You’ll find similar email and SMS marketing features on both platforms, but Omnisend is more affordable than Klaviyo.   

Klaviyo: Final verdict

Klaviyo is an excellent marketing tool for e-commerce brands, enabling you to interact with customers seamlessly through email and SMS. With this platform, you don’t have to stress about managing your marketing activities to drive sales. The few disadvantages are that Klaviyo is pretty expensive, especially for small retailers, and the complaints about poor customer support.  

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Flodesk was founded in 2019 by three entrepreneurs – Martha Bitar, Rebecca Shostak, and Trong Dong – that set out to build an email marketing platform that'll help small businesses design creative campaigns. The company differentiated itself by providing more attractive and responsive templates than the likes of MailChimp and being a more affordable option.

Flodesk has grown to have thousands of customers worldwide. As of April 2021, the company reported $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and nearly two-dozen remote employees across different continents. It maintains its headquarters in San Francisco, California.  

Flodesk: Plans and pricing

Flodesk is a strictly premium tool. There’s no free plan, but there is a free trial for 30 days with no credit card details needed. You can choose to pay for only Flodesk’s email marketing tool, checkout tool, or both.  The Email and Checkout tools each cost $38 / £35 / AUD$60 monthly but you can bundle them for a discounted price of $64 / £60 / AUD$95 per month. You’ll also receive another discount if you pay annually in one go.  

Flodesk: Features

Email Marketing

There are over 4 billion active email users worldwide, so it’ll be a disservice for a business to ignore this marketing channel. Flodesk lets brands create appealing email marketing copies to interact with their subscribers and drive sales. The platform provides a collection of templates that you can choose and edit to fit your brand; you can change the colors, fonts, text size, add images, etc. You can add a call-to-action button that'll take the email recipient to your website once they click on it. 

Right on Flodesk’s email editor, you can see a preview of how your email will appear on both a desktop and a mobile phone. This feature is important because a lot of people view emails on their mobile phones, so you should make sure your email fits well in a mobile display even when you’re editing it on a desktop. 

Flodesk provides a few dozen templates for different types of use cases. You can find email templates for e-commerce sales, online course sales, event registration, newsletters, waitlist invitation, etc. The idea is to pick one that best fits your use case, make some edits, and send an email that'll elicit the recipient's attention and response. Flodesk offers some of the most responsive and visually-appealing templates we’ve encountered in an email marketing tool. However, its templates are fewer than what you’d find in some competing platforms.  

If you have good design skills, you may not need Flodesk’s templates to create good marketing emails because you can create yours. This way, just select “start from scratch” when Flodesk prompts you to choose a template and you can use the platform’s email editor to build your email layout from the ground up. After building a custom layout, you can save it as a template and reuse it as many times as you want. 

Email marketing can be challenging with regard to figuring out which type of emails deliver the best results for your brand. That’s why it’s advisable to test different email formats to see what works best, fondly called A/B testing. You can do this with Flodesk by sending different email formats and monitoring which one delivers the best sales or interactions for your brand and sticking to that one. You can also send a test email to yourself to get a live view of how your email will appear to recipients. 

Flodesk lets you add personalization fields to text blocks in your email. The personalization field can be the recipient's first name, last name, or email address that they provided when signing up for your email list. Email personalization is a desirable feature because it increases the chances of the recipient interacting with your email. You can also include the personalization field in your email’s subject line. 

This platform’s email editor is pretty easy to navigate. It’s uncluttered and has a minimal look, which makes it easy to find and understand how to use different features. This owes to Flodesk being a relatively new tool and not having as many editing features as established rivals like Mailchimp and Klaviyo. Having less sophisticated features is a disadvantage, but Flodesk is keen on adding more features as time goes on. For instance, the personalization field is a recently-added feature. 

Signup Forms

You can’t just send marketing emails to random addresses because that constitutes spam. You must send emails only to addresses you collected with consent, and how do you get those addresses? You use signup forms. Flodesk lets you create signup forms to collect email addresses and some additional information like first names and last names. Once someone registers their email address on your signup form, they’ve consented to receive marketing emails from you, and you’re free to send them. 

You can embed the form you create on Flodesk on your website using HTML code so that visitors can add their addresses to your subscriber list, either a pop-up form or an inline form. If it’s a full-page form, it will be hosted as a separate landing page on a Flodesk domain. Flodesk provides templates for the form and you can customize it to fit your brand just as you’d do with the email editor; you can change the background color, text font and size, border color, add images, etc. 

You can configure Flodesk to send a notification email to your personal email address each time a new subscriber opts into your form. You can also control what happens after someone adds their email address to a form, e.g., display a “thank you” message or redirect them to another URL. 

Checkouts

Flodesk provides a tool that lets you sell things online without having your own website. You can sell both physical and digital goods and collect payments using a Stripe account. Flodesk will host your online store on its domain. 

If you want to sell via Flodesk, the first thing to do is to build a sales page, which is a landing page marketing your product. Flodesk provides a lot of templates for this page, and you can edit it to fit your tastes just as you’d do with an email or signup form. 

After customizing the sales page, the next step is to build the checkout page, which is where customers will enter their credit card information to transfer funds to you. You can spice up this page by upselling another product or adding a discount code for the existing product. You can also add customer testimonials to assure users of the quality of your product.

The last step is to build your delivery page, which is what customers will see after paying for your product. This page usually contains a thank-you message and details such as the order date, number, and summary.

Reporting

It’s necessary to monitor the performance of your email campaigns and make adjustments if they aren’t delivering the intended results. Flodesk offers an analytics dashboard that shows critical metrics like your email's open rate, click-through rate, and bounce rate. One drawback we observed is that Flodesk’s analytical tools aren’t as sophisticated as what you’d find on some rival platforms. For example, Mailchimp shows you the volume of sales generated on your online store from your marketing campaign. 

Flodesk: Interface and use

Flodesk has a stellar user interface. It’s minimal and uncluttered, making it easy to switch between different features. It’s responsive and loads relatively faster than other platforms we’ve used. If user-friendliness was the only criterion for this review, Flodesk will score a perfect 5 stars.    

Flodesk: Support

Flodesk provides direct customer support through email; you can message support@flodesk.com with your inquiries and expect a response within 48 hours. There’s no live chat or telephone support, which puts this platform at a disadvantage compared to its peers. Before contacting the support team, you can visit the official help center page, which contains dozens of articles about Flodesk’s features, to see if you’ll find a solution.    

Flodesk: The competition

Klaviyo and Mailchimp are two major competitors to Flodesk. Flodesk is a significantly more affordable tool because it lets you send unlimited emails for as low as $38 monthly, while Klaviyo and Mailchimp charge based on the number of subscribers and can run up to hundreds or thousands of dollars a month. However, Klaviyo and Mailchimp offer much more sophisticated email marketing and analytical tools than Flodesk.    

Flodesk: Final verdict

Flodesk is an effective email marketing tool that’s easy to use and economical. It’s one of the best options for small businesses with limited marketing budgets. However, Flodesk is a relatively new tool and doesn’t have as many features as older rivals, although the platform seems to be catching up with time.   

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Microsoft Adaptive Accessories: One-minute review

Microsoft has been leading the proverbial charge for accessible technology for a while now, and the Microsoft Adaptive Accessories continues that trend. 

This line of PC peripherals feature four products, each with its own unique properties and purposes. We have the adaptive mouse along with a separate mouse tail and thumb support; the adaptive hub that works as a hybrid remote and keyboard that also connects and controls other devices; and the adaptive D-pad controller that can also be turned into a dual button and joystick controller.

Each product is 3D printed and is meant for easy disassembly and reassembly in order to combine different pieces together to create new gadgets, with the adaptive hub as the control center helping to manage all those specialized macros. Of course, you can set macros for each device on its own but the hub makes it easier to organize and even set unique profiles.

Because each device is 3D printed, the material used to build them is plastic, but the quality is still pretty solid and each one is Bluetooth compatible. However, these devices do have a learning curve, especially when it comes to setting unique macros for them. And while the official Microsoft page does have an FAQ on how to use them, it would have been more useful to include instructions in the packaging itself.

Once you start to learn the ropes of customizing your accessories, it becomes much easier and you realize just how complex and flexible the programming is for them. Not to mention how simple it is to physically customize them with different parts in order to better suit the needs of the user.

Microsoft Adaptive Accessories: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? Adaptive Mouse: $45 (£44 / AU$83); Adaptive Mouse Tail and Thumb Rest: $15 (£15 / AU$28); Adaptive Hub: $50 (£58 / AU$110); Adaptive D-pad: $40 (£39 / AU$73).
• Where is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Microsoft has ensured that these adaptive accessories are available in multiple regions, including both the UK and Australia. The Adaptive Mouse is $45 (£44 / AU$83), with the bonus Adaptive Mouse Tail and Thumb Rest costing $15 (£15 / AU$28). The Adaptive Hub is $50 (£58 / AU$110), and the Adaptive D-pad Button is $40 (£39 / AU$73).

And while the pricing itself isn’t too bad, it’s still a little on the steep side for those who may not have a surplus of funds to purchase the base accessory and the customization pieces. But it’s also important to consider that the tech going into these devices isn’t cheap, and neither is the build quality, despite being 3D-printed items.

• Value: 4.5 / 5

Microsoft Adaptive Accessories: Design and features

• Well-designed
• Material is affordable but not cheap
• Plenty of ports and Bluetooth compatible

The Microsoft adaptive accessories are 3D-printed, which makes both the materials and designs pleasantly simple. The devices are lightweight and small, making them easy to transport around. And yet they surprisingly don’t have that cheap plastic feel to them that plagues similarly small products, with well-made and sturdy forms and well-integrated tech. 

The main devices are in all-black but some of the extra add-ons are in different and bright colors that work well to signify each accessories’ purpose. The add-ons, like the mouse tail and thumb support, are just as lightweight and well-built as the main accessories.

Each accessory has a USB Type-C port for charging and connecting, as well as Bluetooth capabilities when paired with smart devices, laptops, or PCs that are also Bluetooth-compatible. The adaptive hub also has several ports including three Type-C USBs and five 3.5mm switches.

• Design: 5 / 5

Microsoft Adaptive Accessories: Performance

• Easy to attach add-ons to main device
• Macros feature a host of options and combinations
• Works with smart devices too

The full suite of Microsoft adaptive accessories is able to combine with various other add-ons, allowing them to be customized to best suit the needs of the user. For instance, the adaptive mouse itself is flat and keeps the wrist flat as it’s moved, which is perfect for those with carpal tunnel syndrome or other conditions that require the wrist to be held still. 

But other add-ons, like the mouse tail and thumb support, attach quite easily to the main device. The parts are fitted well and are of solid quality, so even if you put a bit too much pressure on them the pieces never feel on the cusp of breaking. 

The adaptive D-pad is handy for both work and play, with the base design made for those with limited movement to either assign macros to each direction, and the add-ons letting you transform it into a joystick or dual button setup.

As for the macros themselves, they work quite well, allowing you to essentially create and assign simple strings of instructions to each of these adaptive accessories that range from repetitive mouse or keyboard strokes to opening up various applications. 

There’s definitely a learning curve to setting and navigating all the possible options, as well as learning how to assign them to different profiles that can be switched between. The adaptive hub is a little more complex as well since it’s used as the base between several accessories and up to three profiles.

Our only issue is that due to the complexity of setting up these macros and even combining some of the add-ons with the accessories, there should have been clear instructions packaged with each device. Microsoft does have a surprisingly robust set of demonstrations and instructions, as well as a Disability Answer desk that includes American Sign Language and additional 3D-printing options from Shapeways. 

But some people may need those hard copy instructions with large print and pictures in order to better understand how to put together the accessories and create macros for them, something that feels like a major oversight for a product designed for people with disabilities.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Microsoft Adaptive Accessories?

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Microsoft Adaptive Accessories: Report card

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We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained — regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

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• First reviewed December 2022