Two-minute review

Less expensive beginner drones are constantly improving, and while they have a long way to go before they match the current specs of more expensive models, the Bwine F7GB2 delivers several features more commonly associated with higher-end drones at a competitive price. It’s far from perfect, but thanks to a unique design it does stand out as being something a little different despite not being one of the best beginner drones currently available.

Price is always a major factor in drone purchases, so before we delve into more detail about the drone we’ll first look at the cost and what comes in the kit. The F7GB2 costs $360.40 on the Roku website with a 32% discount applied that reduces the cost from a whopping $529.99, which would make it more expensive than the best-in-class DJI Mini 3. As long as this discount remains in place, the F7GB2 is priced similarly to other inexpensive beginner models. It’s also available from Amazon US, but if you live in other regions the best place to purchase from is the Roku website where the price is converted to your local currency.

The F7GB2 comes in a kit with everything you need to get started including the drone, a controller, two batteries, a carry bag, one USB-C cable, a spare set of propellers, spare propeller screws, a hex/Allen key and well-written and easy to follow instructions. One point to note here is that the batteries take over six hours to charge so it’s worth investing in another USB-A to USB-C cable so both batteries can be charged at the same time.

These days, most drones fold to reduce their size for transportation and storage, and the F7GB2 is no exception, although it does offer something unique in this area. The drone looks reminiscent of the DJI Phantom series where the camera and gimbal hand sit between the landing gear, but where it differs is in size and weight, and the fact that the propeller arms are folding.

The drone is just 4.6x6.3x5.3in / 398x326x135mm when folded, and 15.6x12.8x5.3in / 118x161x135 mm when unfolded, so it’s quite a small drone with a weight of 19.40 oz / 550g. But this puts it way above the sub-250g category, so it has to be flown under the same regulations as larger and heavier drones such as the DJI Mavic 3 series and Autel EVO Lite models. Build quality is good, but as expected it’s not at the level of more expensive drones.

Collision avoidance is unsurprisingly absent, but the F7GB2 does offer Return to Home (RTH) functionality which can be initiated manually and is activated automatically when the battery is at 20% or the signal is lost. Another useful safety feature is GPS positioning, which is designed to make drones hold their position in the wind and adds precision to RTH, but despite an advertised wind resistance of Level 7 (up to 38 mph), the F7GB2 does drift a little in lower levels of wind when hovering and flying.

Feature-wise, the F7GB2 certainly isn’t lacking and offers a range of flight features which includes GPS Follow subject tracking, Flying Around where the drone orbits the subject, Image Follow where you mark a subject to track in the Bwine Drone app and Route Planning where you map out a flight route for the drone to follow in the Bwine Drone App. There are other flight features but these are those that are most commonly used by drone pilots.

The performance of these functions is crude but they do work, although during test flights, Route Planning didn’t show an in-app map so I couldn’t test it. Collision avoidance would make some of them more effective, but for the price of the drone with the discount, they function as well as expected. You just have to take care to ensure that there are no obstacles that the drone could fly into when using automated flight options.

Flight itself is OK, the drone handles well overall, although you really would not want to fly it in winds above 25 mph. There is also some lag between the controller and drone, so controls aren’t smooth and precise, and this can be seen in video footage which is far from smooth despite the 3-axis mechanical gimbal.

Bwine F7GB2 4k 15 fps video

Battery life is advertised at 28 minutes, but in real-world conditions, testing in warm temperatures and low wind, the F7GB2 could only manage around 15 minutes of flight before RTH was automatically initiated. So, with two batteries in the kit, you can expect around 30 minutes of flight time, but you also have to factor in the slow charging time of the batteries.

4K video is the standard for drones these days, and the F7GB2 can capture video at this resolution but with the framerate limited to 15 fps, the footage is a little choppy. 2.7K video can be captured at 30 fps for smoother and more natural results, although it would be preferable for 4K capture to be possible at 24 or 30 fps to bring the drone up to the level of the competition.

Bwine F7GB2 photos

Photos can also be captured in JPEG format in 4K dimensions (3840x2160px) which makes physical image dimensions close to A4. The camera offers no control over settings, except for a few creative modes that can be applied and are only captured in photos and videos sent to the smartphone running the Bwine Drone app, and not the microSD card inserted into the back of the camera.

Photos and videos are also heavily processed with a loss of fine detail, oversaturation and a warm white balance, so the F7GB2 isn’t a great performer in this area. Image quality may be sufficient for absolute beginners and people who only need a basic camera to capture simple aerial photos and videos, but it’s not a drone that can be used for more advanced image capture and certainly not for shooting professional photos and videos.

 Should I buy the Bwine F7GB2? 

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Bwine F7GB2

The Bwine F7GB2 was tested over several days of flying in a range of locations, environments and weather conditions (excluding rain) to test flight performance, flight features, overall handling and image quality for both photo and video capture. All testing is conducted in a way that meets local aviation laws and restrictions to ensure that all flights are safe and legal.

Drones are always tested using manual flight patterns for video that are typical of professional aerial video capture to shoot visually interesting footage. This also provides the opportunity to test aspects such as the connection between the drone and controller, latency between the two and the accuracy of the controls and flight in general.

With nearly 30 years of photographic experience and 15 years working as a photography journalist, I’ve been covering drones in terms of shooting and editing techniques, alongside writing drone reviews for many years. As well as flying most consumer and prosumer models, I’ve previously held a PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operations) issued by the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK, and now fly under an A2 CofC (A2 Certificate of Competency).

First reviewed July 2023

Verpex is a web hosting company that provides a range of services and features to individuals, businesses, and resellers. 

It offers a comprehensive hosting solution that includes domain registration, website hosting, email services, reseller hosting and more. 

Verpex aims to simplify the process of creating and managing websites by offering user-friendly tools and reliable infrastructure. 

What hosting services does Verpex offer? 

Verpex provides a diverse range of hosting services to cater to different needs and requirements. These include shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated server hosting, offering flexible options for individuals and businesses of varying sizes.

In addition to the aforementioned hosting solutions, Verpex also offers reseller hosting, allowing you to become hosting resellers and manage multiple client accounts under your brand. This enables entrepreneurs and agencies to offer hosting services to their clients while benefiting from Verpex's infrastructure and support.

Verpex's cloud hosting is designed to provide high-performance and scalable hosting solutions, leveraging the power of cloud technology. With cloud web hosting, you can enjoy the benefits of increased reliability, flexibility, and resource allocation as your website grows.

For those seeking a managed hosting experience, Verpex offers managed cloud servers, managed WordPress servers, and managed Magento servers. These services provide you with a hassle-free hosting solution, as Verpex takes care of server management, security updates, and optimizations, allowing you to focus on your website or online business.

Verpex recognizes the unique requirements of specific applications and platforms. That's why it provides specialized hosting services such as LMS hosting for learning management systems, SaaS hosting for software-as-a-service applications, CRM hosting for customer relationship management platforms, social media hosting for social networking websites, web development hosting for developers and agencies, ecommerce hosting for online stores, and WooCommerce hosting specifically tailored for WooCommerce-powered websites.

Performance

During our testing using GTmetrix, Verpex showcased great performance, exemplifying its commitment to delivering high-quality hosting services. With SSD storage and content delivery networks (CDNs) in place, Verpex achieved remarkable results on various performance metrics.

Verpex received an outstanding score of 98% on the GTmetrix Grade, indicating its optimization and efficiency in delivering website content. The First Contentful Paint, a crucial measure of how quickly the website's primary content appears on the screen, recorded an impressive time of 802 milliseconds. Also, Verpex achieved a remarkable speed index of 1.1 seconds on GTmetrix, further highlighting its ability to load websites swiftly.

In terms of load time, Verpex demonstrated exceptional speed with an impressive 2.0 second load time. This swift response ensures that visitors experience minimal waiting time. Moreover, Verpex achieved an exceptional response time, also known as the Time To First Byte (TTFB), with just 49 milliseconds. This quick response showcases Verpex's efficient server performance and ability to promptly deliver website content.

To assess Verpex's uptime reliability, we utilized uptime.com for monitoring. The results showed a 100% uptime, indicating that Verpex ensures websites hosted on its platform experience minimal downtime. This translates to an uptime percentage of approximately 99.99%, affirming Verpex's commitment to providing a stable and consistent hosting environment.

Features analysed  

Verpex stands out with its array of features designed to enhance your web hosting experience. One of its notable offerings is the provision of free SSL certificates for every domain and subdomain. These SSL certificates are not only provided but also installed and renewed automatically, making the process seamless and hassle-free for you and your reseller hosting customers.

To simplify the process of installing popular scripts for your website, Verpex includes Softaculous auto-installers. With this feature, you can easily install widely used platforms like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and PrestaShop. The auto-installer provides access to a vast library of over 300 popular scripts.

Verpex understands the importance of data backup, which is why it offers a minimum of daily backups for your website. In fact, Verpex goes a step further by providing the option for backups to be performed up to twice a day. This ensures that your website's data is regularly backed up, safeguarding your valuable information and providing peace of mind in case of any unforeseen incidents.

When it comes to email services, Verpex ensures that outbound mails from all Verpex users are sent through trusted channels such as MailChannels or SpamExperts. This meticulous approach helps maintain your mailing reputation and ensures that your emails reach their intended recipients without any issues.

Verpex combines the power of WHM control, a leading and reliable hosting manager, with cPanel, a user-friendly control panel. This combination allows you to host multiple clients effortlessly and with confidence. With WHM and cPanel, you have the necessary tools at your disposal to manage and cater to the needs of your clients efficiently.

Verpex understands that migrating your existing websites to a new hosting provider can be a daunting task. That's why Verpex offers unlimited migrations at no additional cost. Whether you have one website or multiple websites, Verpex streamlines the migration process to its reseller hosting platform, ensuring a smooth transition and eliminating any unnecessary expenses.

In addition to hosting services, Verpex also provides comprehensive domain registration and transfer services. With a wide range of domain extensions available, you can easily register or transfer domains to Verpex.

By utilizing SSD storage and content delivery networks (CDNs), Verpex focuses on optimal performance and fast loading times. Also, Verpex offers a variety of location options, including major cities like London, New York, Sydney, and Singapore, allowing you to reach a global audience while maintaining a high level of uptime.

Verpex understands that not everyone possesses coding knowledge, which is why it provide user-friendly website builders. These tools empower you to create professional-looking websites without the need for coding skills. With Verpex's website builders, you can design and customize your website according to your preferences, giving you the freedom to express your creativity.

Scalability and flexibility are essential aspects of Verpex's hosting services. As your website grows, Verpex allows you to easily scale your hosting to meet the increasing demands. Whether you need to upgrade or downgrade your hosting plans, Verpex provides a seamless process that accommodates changes in website traffic or resource requirements.

How easy is Verpex to use?

 Verpex prioritizes user-friendliness, offering a hosting platform that is effortless to navigate and manage. With a focus on intuitive design, Verpex's control panel provides a seamless experience for users. 

It presents a straightforward interface that allows you to effortlessly access and manage your hosting services. Whether it's setting up email accounts, managing domains, or configuring website settings, Verpex's interface simplifies the process, making it accessible even to those with limited technical expertise. 

Verpex pricing: Is it good value for money?

Verpex offers a range of pricing options for its web hosting packages, ensuring that you can find a plan that suits your specific needs and budget.

For the Web Hosting package plans, Verpex provides different tiers to choose from. The Iron plan is priced at $1.00 per month, with a renewal rate of $1.66 per month. The bronze plan is available at $2.10/month, renewing at $3.50/month. Verpex silver plan is priced at $3.30/month, with a renewal rate of $9.99 per month, and the gold plan is offered at $6./month, renewing at $10/month.

For users interested in reseller hosting, Verpex offers three package plans. The start-up reseller plan is priced at $9.59/month, with a renewal rate of $11.99/month. The pro reseller plan starts at $18/month and renews at $22.50/month. Verpex’s ultimate reseller plan is priced at $32.20/month, with a renewal price of $40.25/month.

Verpex also provides server package plans for those in need of more advanced hosting solutions. The managed server - D4 plan is offered at $39.50/month, with a renewal starting at $79/month. It’s managed server - D8 plan starts at $59.50/month, renewing at $119/month. The managed server - D16 plan is available at $94.50/month and renews at $189.00 per month.

To provide peace of mind to its customers, Verpex includes a 45-day money-back guarantee with all of its plans. This ensures that you have the opportunity to try Verpex's services and, if unsatisfied, you can receive a refund within the specified timeframe.

Security

Verpex places a strong emphasis on security, providing a range of features and measures to protect its customers' websites and data. Verpex offers SSH (Secure Shell) Access, a secure protocol that allows you to establish a secure connection and remotely manage your hosting accounts. This feature ensures that sensitive information remains encrypted during data transfer, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

To further bolster security, Verpex incorporates ModSecurity, an open-source web application firewall (WAF). ModSecurity helps protect websites from various types of attacks, such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting (XSS), by filtering and analyzing incoming traffic to identify and block potential threats.

The IP Blocker feature enables you to block specific IP addresses or ranges, providing an additional layer of protection against malicious entities or unwanted visitors. 

Verpex offers SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) Status and SSL/TLS encryption, which are vital for ensuring secure communication between websites and users' browsers. By encrypting data in transit, Verpex helps safeguard sensitive information, such as login credentials and financial transactions, from interception or tampering.

To proactively address potential security risks, Verpex integrates Imunify360 into its hosting environment. Imunify360 is a comprehensive security solution that utilizes advanced machine learning algorithms and real-time threat intelligence to detect and mitigate various types of malware and malicious activities.

Verpex provides you with the ability to manage API tokens, which are used to authenticate and authorize access to hosting accounts and APIs. 

To prevent unauthorized hotlinking of website content, Verpex offers Hotlink Protection. This feature helps conserve server resources and bandwidth by blocking requests from external websites attempting to display or link to files hosted on Verpex servers without permission. Also, Verpex incorporates Leech Protection, a feature that prevents unauthorized access to password-protected directories. Verpex also performs regular malware scans to detect and eliminate any potential security threats or compromised files within its hosting environment.

Customer support

Verpex prioritizes customer support and provides multiple channels for you to seek assistance and find resources. You have access to support options such as phone support, live chat, and email support, ensuring that you can reach out to Verpex in a way that suits you. 

Also, Verpex offers a blog that serves as a valuable resource hub, providing informative articles, tutorials, and updates. The knowledge base provided by Verpex is extensive and offers a wealth of information.  

Is Verpex right for you? 

Determining whether Verpex is the right hosting provider for you depends on your specific needs and requirements. If you prioritize user-friendly interfaces, Verpex provides an intuitive control panel and interfaces that make managing hosting accounts and websites easy. Its platform is designed with simplicity in mind, ensuring a seamless experience for users, regardless of their technical expertise.

Verpex also emphasizes security, offering features like SSL certificates, firewalls, malware scans, and more to protect your websites and data. This focus on security helps safeguard your online presence and provides peace of mind. However, it's important to note that during our testing, we found that the Verpex live chat support was not as helpful as expected. If immediate and efficient customer support is a crucial factor for you, this might be a consideration to keep in mind.

• We've created a list of the best web hosting and best website builder services on the market

The Beflo Tenon Standing Desk has surpassed all other desks in quality and features. Although costly, (and it should be), Beflo unashamedly knows it is not competing with the budget desk market, but is out to make the best of the best standing desk.

The Tenon is a workspace more than just a desk, with Beflo going as far as calling it "the Marie Kondo of desks" due to its organizational prowess. 

This Beflo Tenon Standing Desk has been meticulously crafted with great care and precision in every detail. The metal legs seamlessly transition to the desktop without any overlap or gap. The desk also has integrated storage and even areas to velcro cables, so there is no excuse for a messy workstation here.

Unboxing and First Impressions

This desk was delivered on its own pallet from a semi-truck. Once I removed the packing materials and got the individual boxes of accessories and the desk off the pallet, I got to work unboxing. Every piece was tightly packed in perfectly cut foam, leaving no room for damage from poor packing. The box served as an instructional guide, conserving paper and providing a clear and straightforward guide for users to assemble the product quickly and easily. All the pieces fit together seamlessly and aligned perfectly with the desk. As I was building, I had to plug in all four legs, the lightbar, and some other areas, all of which I could do without moving any pieces; they all were right there, ready to get plugged in.

Design and Build Quality

Everything about this desk screams high-end and premium, from the desktop itself to the metal legs and the intuitive technology woven through the frame of the Tenon. It's like if you usually drive an excellent top-of-the-line Honda and then jump in a fully loaded Mercedes. Your Honda is still a great car, but it's not even comparable to the same tier as a Mercedes vehicle.

There are four built-in standard outlets on the back underside of the desk, and under the front section of the desk lies a USB-A port and a USB-C port (both for charging), and a headphone jack.

I knew this desk had two significant features that I am still shocked about every time I use it. First up is the integrated lightbar. I have had lights on the back of my primary monitor, along with some other lights, for as long as I can remember. However, building it into the desk makes everything feel more together and intentional. 

The second is the slit down the middle back of the desk. This is to be used in combination with the Granite modesty panel/cable management and the Syncline, as well as the Clast, all to make a slot for a laptop itself to slide through the desk.

The integration of the lightbar is fantastic. I can easily control the lightbar from my phone or the touchscreen controller built into the desk. I can choose solid colors or gradient colors and adjust the brightness.

I got my hands on the white legs and the white/off-white desktop before they even announce the colorway choice. While I was still determining what to expect when in communication with Beflo regarding the limited color option, they assured me it would look good, and it does. It seems not entirely white, the legs are whiter than the desktop, but it's also not a proper tan or brown. This off-white color looks fantastic in person and pairs beautifully with the white legs and my darker accents for contrast.

I chose to keep things pretty simple, only grabbing the Flow Kit, which includes the Granite (modesty panel/cable management track), the Pebble Pro (portable laptop docking station), the Syncline (laptop holder for use with the Granite track), the Argil (cable holder meant for the slit on the Tenon desktop), a few of the Clast (for using 3rd party accessories with the Granite track), and the Creek (leg attachment to hold the primary power cable). The additional accessories are constantly growing, and Beflo is looking to continue to add more, but some of the accessories include a diffuser bar for the lightbar (Horizon), a desk mat (Moss), a pegboard (Valley), and a hanging pouch (Dale). 

In Use

After some time testing, I find myself excited to work at this desk every day. The Beflo Tenon makes you feel like you are experiencing an entire workspace, not just a desk. Because of the slit in the desk, this desktop could be incredibly minimal, utilizing the space to be open and accessible. I find myself regularly changing not just one aspect of my desk but my entire desk because I am mesmerized by adjusting everything he can do.

While writing this, the Wi-Fi connectivity is having some issues due to Beflo updating its central servers - but I've been reassured that it will not close for at least a while.

While it's easy to go into the touch screen, swipe to unlock, and then choose the height adjustment, I also discovered that I can double-tap the screen and the camera button and then double-tap the screen to switch between sit and stand.

Even with my massive setup (see pictures), this desk is still the perfect size. The intelligent features built-in for reminding me to stand up, the color lightbar, the touch screen, and the four independent legs are all beneficial and work well.

Final Verdict

The Beflo Tenon Standing Desk should be your pick if you want the most premium standing desk that money can offer. It has great accessories, intuitive features, a great look, and a high lifting capacity. This desk will never be on a budget list, but that's okay - it's for those who can and want to spend that kind of money on home office gear.