Category:

Product Reviews

Your Delivery Robot Is Here

by admin October 4, 2025

Aarian Marshall: Hello.

Michael Calore: Given today’s topic, I’m curious to know what is the most unexpected thing you’ve both ordered through a delivery app?

Louise Matsakis: So I was on a press trip to China recently, and I was taking notes during an interview, and I got pen all over my white pants. So I ordered the Chinese equivalent of a Tide pen. I think that’s probably the weirdest thing I’ve ever gotten on demand.

Aarian Marshall: I am so constitutionally against just paying for delivery even before there were apps. I hated paying delivery people. Much respect what they do, but I’d rather spend my money in other ways. So I think recently I got really desperate and ordered pad Thai, and that was wild for me. So that’s where I am.

Michael Calore: That’s your most unexpected thing?

Aarian Marshall: Yeah, the fact that I used it at all is unexpected.

Michael Calore: Yeah, I mean I live in one of the most population-dense parts of the west coast of California, and I rarely use delivery apps, but I would say probably the most unexpected thing I’ve ever ordered is a bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey.

Aarian Marshall: Respect.

Michael Calore: This is WIRED’s Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley. Today we’re talking about how after years of struggles delivery app companies are still trying to deploy their robots right to your doorstep. At an event earlier this week, DoorDash unveiled its own new autonomous robot called Dot. The company says it’s part of a goal to have a hybrid, quote, “Work model for deliveries going forward, working with humans, but also drones and autonomous vehicles in the mix.” But DoorDash is not alone in its efforts to have your dinner delivered by a robot. The industry of autonomous deliveries has been steadily evolving and has faced considerable challenges along the way. We’ll dive into why some of these companies are still betting big on delivery robots, the race to create the right technology to use in them and what having these robot fleets in our cities could mean for all of us. I’m Michael Calore, director of consumer tech and culture.

Source link

October 4, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

The best Prime Day SSD deals include discounts on gear from Crucial, Samsung and more

by admin October 4, 2025

October Prime Day is here again, and as always, we’ve put together a list of the best, most-discounted extra storage options for consoles and gaming PCs. Our guide to the top storage deals is split into three categories — tiny microSD cards, portable external SSDs and generally faster (but more labor-intensive) internal SSDs. Whether you’re building a gaming rig or just want to stop your PS5 from lagging, there’s almost certainly a deal for you on our curated list. Take a look now to see what kind of extra storage might best fit your needs.

Best October Prime Day SSD deals

Amazon

Fifth-generation SSDs are still a little faster than most people need, but with software only getting bigger, use cases are likely to grow. To get an early jump on future speeds, check out the Crucial T710 with 2TB of storage, a super-fast SSD that reads at up to 14,500MB/s. This deal doesn’t include a heatsink, but it does come with free hardware encryption.

$230 (36 percent off) at Amazon

Crucial X10 4TB Portable SSD for $240 (39 percent off): The Crucial X9 is our current favorite portable SSD, but the X10 is a step beyond. Based on USB 3.2, it’s compatible with a wide range of devices, and reaches reading speeds of 2,100MB/s — all in an extremely portable pocket-sized case.

Crucial BX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-inch Internal SSD for $60 (36 percent off): The BX500 is Crucial’s budget-conscious SSD option, but that doesn’t mean it disappoints. This internal solid state drive cuts down on battery consumption and improves processing with read speeds reaching 540MB/s. It comes with a three-year warranty, too.

Crucial P310 2TB for $149 (38 percent off): The 2TB level of the Crucial P310 is available at the lowest price we’ve seen all year. It’s a compact drive that works great in small laptops or Steam Decks — especially the latter, given Valve’s warning against cramming in large SSDs. For this small size and great price, you get read speeds of over 7,000MB/s.

Samsung 990 Evo Plus 1TB for $70 (33 percent off): This is an incredible deal on an internal SSD from a reliable brand. All capacities of the Samsung 990 Evo Plus are currently on sale, but even the 1TB option can visibly boost your performance with top read speeds of 7,250MB/s. There’s no heatsink, but nickel plating on the controller reduces both heat output and energy use.

Samsung 990 PRO 2 TB for $156 (26 percent off): Samsung’s 990 Pro series represents a massive leap forward for the brand, cutting energy costs by around half while boosting speeds up to at least 7,000MB/s write and 5,000MB/s read. This version comes with 2TB of storage and its own built-in heatsink.

Samsung Fit Plus 256GB for $23 (30 percent off): The Samsung Fit Plus isn’t just the best thumb drive on the market right now — it’s one of the best SSDs, period. This deal gets you 256GB of storage and read speeds of 400MB/s for almost unfathomably cheap. It’s also built to resist water, extreme temperatures, magnets and even radiation.

Kingston SX1000 1TB High Performance for $89 (23 percent off): If you can’t swing a Crucial X9 or X10 right now, Kingston offers a much more affordable alternative. The SX1000 can handle both PC backups and gaming storage with ease, nearly matching the X9 in our speed tests. It’s also easy to carry around, though keep a tight grip as it’s not officially rated for any drop height.

SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD for $148 (29 percent off): The SanDisk Extreme line of portable SSDs provides a great middle ground in both price and performance. Read speeds of 1,050MB/s are enough for transferring most files you’ll encounter day-to-day. Its external design holds up too, with a large carabiner loop, IP65 waterproofing and dustproofing and drop protection as high as three meters.

Seagate Storage Expansion Card 2TB for $220 (39 percent off): This SeaGate SSD is specifically for expanding storage on the Xbox Series X and S, and it’s designed to meet Xbox specs exactly. You’ll get exactly the same performance booting a game from this card as you would from internal Xbox storage, which makes data management infinitely easier.

Source link

October 4, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera review: a decent, if inessential accessory

by admin October 4, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: Review

If you’re looking to make the most of GameChat for online multiplayer, the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera is a decent way to go about it. Its basic design may lack the charm of the Hori Piranha Plant Camera, but rest assured that the official Switch 2 Camera is a significantly better product, even if I wouldn’t classify it as one of the best webcams out there.

I’m a believer that contemporary webcams should be aiming for at least 720p picture quality, with 1080p being the ideal. The Switch 2 Camera clears Hori’s product on this front, boasting 1080p picture quality over the Piranha Plant’s disappointing 480p. As a result, your face will come through crisply on GameChat, as well as on PC for work meetings or chats with friends.

Price will definitely be a bit of a sticking point, though. At $54.99 / £49.99 / AU$, it costs less than the Hori Piranha Plant Camera in the US, but a good deal more than it does in the UK. You’re basically paying for the official branding here, really, especially as you can pick up 720p and 1080p webcams that perform just as well for much less.

(Image credit: Future)

While the Switch 2 Camera can be used when you’re playing in handheld mode, its rigid design (not to mention the lack of a clip or mount) makes it best suited for when your console is docked. The tall stem upon which the camera sits is likely the way it is for this reason, so it can still reasonably capture your face while you sit back on the couch.

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera at Amazon for $17.99

It’s likely also designed to support its wide field of view, which is around 110 degrees. That’s a good deal more than most PC webcams, but it does make sense given Nintendo’s family-friendly approach. If you have a few folk sitting in the room while playing with GameChat, that wider viewing angle does a decent job of capturing everyone in the same frame.

You can also adjust the vertical angle of the camera itself by a total of around 30-40 degrees or so. That’s fairly acceptable when you take into account its otherwise unmoving design. And when you want to hide yourself, a privacy shutter is included via a circular dial around the camera. You can also manually turn off the camera feed in GameChat’s settings by hitting your controller’s ‘C’ button during play.

(Image credit: Future)

As for performance, the camera’s 1080p output is decent, if a little soft around the edges. While you’re using GameChat, the Switch 2 attempts to crop you out of the background and place you onto a blank one that takes on the color of your profile picture. That’s a nice touch, and also means you don’t have to fiddle around with blur settings.

One major problem I had, though, had to do with the space between myself and the blank background. I have a blank wall behind me in my office space, and the surroundings were still noticeably fuzzy. I also had moments during a Mario Kart World play session where I appeared to phase in and out of existence on the screen, so it’s not a perfect implementation by any means. To be fair, your mileage may vary here depending on your background and lighting conditions.

Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera is blissfully simple to set up. Being an officially licensed product, simply plugging it into the console via USB-C caused it to be registered immediately. That was the same case on PC, too, when using it as a webcam. There’s no fussing with drivers or installs. Just plug it in and you’re good to go. It also works with a USB-A adapter on both Switch 2 and PC, if you prefer that.

(Image credit: Future)

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: Price & Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Price

$54.99 / £49.99 / AU$69.95

Resolution

1080p at 30fps

Field of view

Around 110 degrees

Dimensions

6.3 x 2.5 x 1.5in x 160 x 64 x 38mm

Weight

0.3lbs / 136g

Compatibility

Nintendo Switch 2, PC, MacOS

Should you buy the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: Also consider

How I tested the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera

Tested for one month
Used for Switch 2 GameChat multiplayer and as an office webcam
Largely tested with Mario Kart World and chat apps like Discord

I’ve been using the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera for a little over a month now, as both a Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat device and as a webcam for work and social gaming sessions over Discord. On Switch 2, I primarily played in docked mode while using the camera with an AOC Gaming 24G2SP 1080p gaming monitor.

While gaming, I tested the camera’s functionality with sessions of Mario Kart World with my TechRadar Gaming colleague Dash Wood. While here, I also made sure to test out GameChat’s various settings, including screen size and in-game face capture options.

Read more about how we test
First reviewed: October 2025

Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: Price Comparison

Source link

October 4, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Fabulous news everyone: Market analyst says the AI bubble is 17X bigger than the dotcom goldrush, and 4X larger than the subprime bubble that caused the 2008 crash

by admin October 3, 2025

The AI sector isn’t just a bubble, says one senior market analyst: It’s the single biggest bubble the markets have ever seen, the bubble of bubbles if you will, a bubble so large it looms over the entire global economy and leaves Sir Mix-A-Lot breathless.

In unrelated news, the Associated Press has just reported that OpenAI’s valuation has hit $500 billion, making a company that’s never turned a profit into the most valuable startup in history.

One market analyst reckons this tomfoolery has gone far enough, these companies and those who invest in them are about to hit “diminishing returns hard”, and is telling their clients to steer well clear.

Let’s put the argument for AI as briefly as possible: It’s going to change the world on a scale that is currently so unimaginable it could only be described as revolutionary. It will transform industries and economies. And it is only fair to say that AI technologies have achieved some remarkable things that may point in this direction, particularly in the field of medicine.

But that’s the thing. We’re all getting familiar with AI tech in some aspects, whether that’s Gemini shouldering-in on what used to be a perfectly good search engine, the constant wheedling offers it makes about taking notes or summarising conversations, nevermind the endless flood of brain-melting slop on social media. Some of the functionality is neat, some is annoying, but nothing about it feels revolutionary. Not even close.

So do you buy the hype? Up until now investors certainly have, and even governments are rushing to get on-board with the AI revolution. Here in the UK our Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a man with the charisma of an empty pizza box, was somehow galvanised into the creation of “a blueprint to turbocharge AI” for “a decade of national renewal.” Starmer recently met the US President, frabjous day, and the pair announced a “Tech Prosperity Deal” where firms like Google and Microsoft agreed to spend billions building big expensive AI things for themselves in the UK and call it largesse.

All of which is to say: there is a hell of a lot of money riding on AI producing… well, something genuinely transformative in the near future. So much money that, if the bubble bursts, the pop may herald the kind of brutal economic fallout that can define eras.

Even the moneymen are starting to think that something might not pass the smell test here. A new note to its clients from independent research firm the Macrostrategy Partnership goes in with both feet, but I will caveat it: Independent this firm may well be, but it has taken a very firm and conservative stance on AI for a long time.

This note to investors was first reported on by MarketWatch, and written by Julien Garran (who was formerly leader of UBS’s commodities strategy team, so presumably knows what he’s on about).

Garran’s wildest claim is that AI is no mere bubble, but a bubble 17 times larger than the dotcom bubble and four times that of the sub-prime bubble behind the 2008 global crash. The argument is that artificially low interest rates have led to misallocation, economics jargon for money and work being spent in the wrong place and destabilising things because the output, the products or even promises if you will, don’t materialise.

(Image credit: via Getty Images/Yuichiro Chino)

Garran gets to that number with some creative economising using the Wicksellian differential to calculate a GDP deficit that altogether includes AI, real estate, VC investments, and for some reason NFTs. Under this metric the misallocation in a pre-crash 2008 was around 18% of GDP: Garran estimates that this figure could now be an eye-watering 65%.

Analysts naturally find ways (and leftfield differentials) to make the numbers fit their world view, but Garran does highlight some real-world examples of how the AI productivity boom is going. He cites a study where the task-completion rate for AI at a software company was between 1.5% to 34% and, even with the tasks AI was better at, it couldn’t reliably replicate that success over time. There’s a chart from another economist, based on Commerce Department data, suggesting that AI pickup among big companies is declining.

“We don’t know exactly when LLMs might hit diminishing returns hard, because we don’t have a measure of the statistical complexity of language,” says Garran. “To find out whether we have hit a wall we have to watch the LLM developers. If they release a model that costs 10x more, likely using 20x more compute than the previous one, and it’s not much better than what’s out there, then we’ve hit a wall.”

Garran further points out that the audience using LLMs the most are costing these companies more in compute power “than their monthly subscriptions”. And he could’ve added that most of us use them for free. He then comes up with a sentence that is supposed to be a dire warning but just sounds funny, about the bubble bursting and pushing the economy “into a zone 4 deflationary bust on our investment clock.” Not the investment clock dammit!

I should re-emphasise Garran is an AI critic and works for a firm that is telling its clients not to over-invest or even invest in AI. So take everything in that context. This is no truth from on high but it does feel like the mood music around this technology is shifting slightly. Perhaps AI will change the world. Perhaps not like some think.

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Mark Hamill’s Best Genre Roles (That Aren’t Luke Skywalker)

by admin October 3, 2025

James Jesse, The Flash

Imagine taking a C-list comics villain and having such a fun performance with it that you get to play him across the decades in three different TV shows. Hamill first played the Trickster in the ’90s Flash live-action show, before coming back for an animated appearance in Justice League Unlimited and then reviving the character again in the CW’s own Flash show. Hamill’s Trickster, like so many of his most beloved roles, really manages to balance the zany over-theatricality of a comic book baddie (even if Jesse is hardly the fiercest of Flash’s rogues), while giving the character a wonderfully human side too in his appearance in Unlimited. The 2014 Flash iteration definitely leans a bit more on the gag side of things, but it’s well worth revisiting his ’90s turn, considering it’s what purportedly played a key role in him landing the role of Joker.

Skeletor, Masters of the Universe: Revelations

It might be controversial to say, given any performance of He-Man’s antagonistic foil has to walk in the shadow of Alan Oppenheimer, but Hamill’s turn in Kevin Smith’s rebooted take on Masters of the Universe is a very fun take on the character, giving Skeletor a gruffness that lends him an underlying menace even when he leans a bit more into the character’s classic camp.

Christoper “Maverick” Blair, Wing Commander

Okay, sure, we can’t put one hotshot sci-fi piloting hero on this list, but there is another! Hamill played Wing Commander protagonist Maverick, aka Christopher Blair, in the FMV live-action cutscenes used in the third and fourth games in the series, Heart of the Tiger and Price of Freedom, giving the series’ previously unnamed protagonist a stronger depth of character, a more seasoned starfighter pilot on the front lines of a long and bitter conflict with the lion-esque aliens known as the Kilrathi. And as Hamill’s voice acting career took off, he even returned to the animated prequel spinoff Wing Commander Academy to reprise the role.

Mervyn Pumpkinhead, The Sandman

The Dreaming’s resident grumpy janitor (and sentient pumpkin-headed scarecrow), Hamill burns briefly but brightly on Netflix’s Sandman adaptation, with Mervyn providing a touch of charmingly abrasive levity to the climax of the first season. Thank god he recovered from his fight against the furies in the show’s sophomore season!

skekTek the Scientist, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

Sometimes you’ve just gotta lean all the way in, and when given the role of the Skeksis’ chief scientist in the incredible Dark Crystal prequel show, Hamill goes all out. He’s cackling, shrill, and just delightfully, ruthlessly over-the-top in his portrayal of skekTek’s otherwise logically cold evil, really selling you on just what wretched delight skekTek takes in the cruelty he enacts in his experiments.

The Major, The Long Walk

Hamill’s most recent performance is so great that it immediately has to sit among a recollection of his finest roles, playing the chilling commander of the titular dystopian march from Stephen King’s classic tale. It’s clear looking back on Hamill’s work that he loves playing a villain, but few compare to the chilling presence with which he embodies the Major as an ever-watching specter haunting the walkers.

Ozai, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Hamill fills Avatar‘s Fire Lord with tension in every line, a fitting balance of restraint for the fiery leader of the Fire Nation’s imperial ambitions: his performance as Ozai is electrifying, crackling with the potential for the character’s rage always swirling just beneath the surface. And that only means that when Ozai is allowed to let loose, Hamill goes suitably grand, imbuing the character with a snide and noble arrogance that you love to hate.

Albie Krantz, The Life of Chuck

The grandfather to the titular Chuck, Hamill plays a crucial role in this year’s Mike Flanagan tearjerker. Albie cuts a tired figure, and like so many of Hamill’s most beloved roles, there’s a little element of irascibility—but it’s for good measure, as we see through the young Chuck’s eyes the tragedies that have shaped his grandfather into the man he is. Even in dealing with all that, Hamill gives Albie a warmth and sincerity to deliver an incredibly emotional performance, one that stands in stark contrast to his other big 2025 role in The Long Walk.

The Hobgoblin, Spider-Man: The Animated Series

While Joker dominates people’s memory of Hamill’s superheroic voicework, his turn as the Hobgoblin in Marvel’s ’90s animated icon is not to be missed. There’s just enough menace to keep it distinct from his other, more grandiose vocal performances, while keeping a bit of a more subdued vibe.

Thorn, The Wild Robot

In a wonderfully sweet role as the grizzly bear with a soft heart, Hamill gets to do a lot with Thorn, softening him from a ferociously cantankerous initial threat to a loveably warm friend to Roz the robot over the course of the film. Hamill clearly loves voice roles where he gets to play both sides of the coin… and occasionally do so with gruffness that, in this case, is suitably bearish.

Jim the Vampire, What We Do in the Shadows

An iconic part of an all-time iconic What We Do in the Shadows bit, Hamill’s Jim is the hilarious foil to Laszlo in “On the Run”: the vampire Laszlo stiffs on rent, leading to a near 200-year grudge and Laszlo’s brief flight to Pennsylvania to live a life as human bartender Jackie Daytona. Hamill’s comedic chops are on full display here as the oddball, vengeful, yet very oblivious vampire, and it’s a delight to see him having so much fun.

Arthur Pym, The Fall of the House of Usher

Ah, the Pym Reaper. The Usher family’s sinister fixer lets Hamill play a particularly intriguing nastiness: Pym is far from a good person, but he is surprisingly nuanced in the way he acts as the ruthless thread weaving together the unfolding doom the Usher family faces. It’s a wonderfully chilling mirror to many of Hamill’s more overtly evil roles, and he plays it pitch-perfectly.

You know this had to be on here somewhere. The performance that defined the Dark Knight’s greatest foe for generations of fans—and kept defining it, as he returned to voice Joker across various other projects—Hamill’s Joker will forever remain as iconic a spotlight in his career as Luke Skywalker. Able to balance the character’s humor and darkness in equal measure while imbuing the clown prince with a cackling theatricality, Hamill took the great material he was given in Batman and made it sing.

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

The Lenovo Go S Is $120 Off

by admin October 3, 2025

Excited by the fervor of new gaming handhelds hitting the market but don’t want to shell out the big bucks? The Legion Go S with SteamOS installed offers an easy entry into the space, is great for occasional travelers and couch gamers, and is marked down by $120 at Best Buy.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Lenovo

Legion Go S (SteamOS)

Having spent time with both the SteamOS and Windows models, I prefer the one running Valve’s custom handheld software. While Lenovo does a good job bridging the gap with extra buttons and control options, trying to use a desktop operating system with just a controller and touchscreen can often be a frustrating experience. With SteamOS, you turn on the device, scan a QR code with your phone, and within minutes you’re downloading your games and save files from the cloud.

This Legion Go S is fairly bulky, which I actually found more comfortable than slimmer options. It has built-in controller grips, and a spacious button layout, plus triggers and bumpers that are luxurious and well-placed. The screen is nice and bright, and features a 120-Hz refresh rate, although it’s an IPS panel instead of the OLEDs we’re starting to see elsewhere. This model comes with 1 TB of storage and 32 GB of memory, plus a MicroSD card slot if you want to really load up on games.

Like with most of the non-Nintendo gaming handhelds, you’ll probably need to tweak settings or even resolution to get the latest games running smoothly. I did find it more powerful than my aging Steam Deck, and in games like Vampire Survivors and Trackmania 2020, the kinds of games I often play on the go, it had no problem and required very little tweaking. A lot of that is thanks to the SteamOS support, which helps games automatically understand the device’s capabilities better than Windows often does with custom hardware.

I’ve got the new Legion 2 in hand and am working on a full review, but know that it’s a larger and more expensive device and also runs Windows out of the box. If you’re looking for a more compact device and plan on using SteamOS for your gaming, this is a solid deal on a capable handheld.

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus drops to only $29 in this Prime Day deal

by admin October 3, 2025

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus is on sale for just $29. That’s a discount of 27 percent and the lowest we’ve ever seen it.

Roku has held the top spot in the TV OS market for years thanks to its user-friendly interface, an affordable range of streaming devices and its own lineup of TVs. We picked the Streaming Stick Plus as the best streaming device for free and live content, thanks in large part to The Roku Channel app that accompanies it. The Roku Channel features over 500 free TV channels with live news, sports coverage and a rotating lineup of TV shows and movies.

Roku

In our hands-on review of the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, we thought it was perfect for travel thanks to its small size and the fact that it can be powered by your TV’s USB port, nixing the need for a wall adapter. Menu navigation and opening or closing apps won’t happen at quite the same speeds as more expensive streamers, but it’s quick enough for what is ultimately a pretty low-cost option. The Wi-Fi range on this one is also weaker than Roku’s pricier devices, but unless you are placing it exceedingly far from your router, it shouldn’t be an issue.

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus supports both HD and 4K TVs, as well as HDR10+ content. It doesn’t support Dolby Vision, however; for that you’ll need to upgrade to Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K or Roku Ultra. It comes with Roku’s rechargeable voice remote with push-to-talk voice controls. Roku’s remote can also turn on your TV and adjust the volume while you’re watching.

If you’ve been thinking about getting a Roku device, or you already love the platform and want a compact and convenient way to take it with you when you travel, then this sale provides a great opportunity. If you’d prefer a more powerful and slightly more stationary device, the Roku Ultra is on sale for $79 right now, too.

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Weebly review 2025: Pros & cons, features tested

by admin October 3, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Weebly is a functional, affordable, and easy-to-use website builder, but it is no longer considered one of the best website builder platforms on the market.

While it has a unique advantage with its free plan that includes basic ecommerce, the platform has not seen any major feature updates since 2018, making it an outdated option for more advanced online stores.

Offering simplicity and a low cost, Weebly does rank amongst the best small business website builders. But if you want robust features, you won’t find them here.

What is Weebly?

Weebly is a website builder that helps anyone create websites without coding. You drag and drop elements like text, images, buttons, and forms onto your page. Weebly takes care of the coding behind the scenes.

Founded in 2006 by three college students at Pennsylvania State University, Weebly was supposed to help students build online portfolios. Now, it’s owned by Block, Inc. (formerly Square) and has become a complete website solution. It includes hosting (where your site lives), domain registration (your website address), and design tools all in one place.

What makes Weebly easy for beginners is its What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. Changes you make in the editor are exactly what visitors see on your live site. You start with about 50 pre-designed templates and customize them with your content. Weebly manages technical details like mobile responsiveness (making your site look good on phones) and security, so you can focus on your content.

Weebly also supports ecommerce, letting you set up an online store to sell products directly. A standout feature is that you can sell unlimited items even on the free plan—something many competitors don’t offer. This is especially appealing for small businesses or entrepreneurs testing online selling without a big investment.

Weebly: 2-minute review

Weebly is a budget-friendly website builder that has been around since 2006. However, it has stagnated since Square (now Block, Inc.) acquired it in 2018. It makes website creation simple for beginners, but its limited customization and outdated templates aren’t enough to support professional designs.

The platform shines in ecommerce, though. It allows selling unlimited products, even on the free plan. It could appeal to small businesses on tight budgets or entrepreneurs testing new business ideas. Still, there are key drawbacks, like transaction fees on lower-tier plans and limited integration with payment platforms.

There’s basic SEO tools, but they lack the depth of competitors. Its marketing features are also disappointing compared to more modern options. Competitors like Wix and Squarespace provide more modern features, better designs, and stronger growth potential — though at a higher price point.

Features

Weebly provides a reliable set of features, but they feel outdated and insufficient for anything but the most basic websites. (Image credit: Weebly)

Weebly provides a reliable set of features, but they feel outdated and insufficient for anything but the most basic websites. That said, we were impressed with the ecommerce options. You can sell unlimited products even on the free plan, making it a great option for new stores that rely on volume sales. The platform also offers tools for inventory management, product reviews, shipping calculators, and coupon creation.

However, since its acquisition by Square (now Block, Inc.) in 2018, updates have been rare. This leaves Weebly trailing behind competitors like Wix, which now offers AI tools, advanced editing options, and many more templates.

Weebly’s App Center offers some flexibility with 350+ apps and integrations across various categories, like ecommerce and social. But, we found the selection still pretty limited compared to competitors. There are fewer big-name integrations, though ecommerce users can access the larger Square App Marketplace.

Weebly is still one of the best blogging sites out there, thanks largely to its affordable price tag and simple to use blogging tools.

At a starting price of $10/month for paid plans, Weebly provides decent value, especially for beginners or small businesses with basic needs. Yet, the value declines for advanced users who may need richer features from competitors.

Tools

Weebly offers customizable templates, mobile-responsive designs, and analytics that track opens and clicks. (Image credit: Weebly)

Weebly offers various tools to help users create and manage websites easily. Our testing showed these tools are mostly user-friendly, but they lack the advanced features of newer competitors. Here’s a summary of Weebly’s main tools:

Drag-and-drop editor

Weebly’s drag-and-drop editor is central to its website building experience. You can add content like text, photos, maps, and videos by dragging them into place. The editor uses a row-based structure, which is great for symmetry but limits creative freedom.

Ecommerce tools

Most of Weebly’s standout features lie in its ecommerce tools. You can manage inventory, display product reviews, and handle sales. We liked the inventory tracker, which updates shoppers when items run out. There are shipping and tax calculators too. A coupon builder lets you create custom discounts, while automated emails help with order confirmations and shipping updates.

Marketing suite

Weebly Promote is the platform’s email marketing tool. It integrates smoothly with your website to turn visitors into customers. The system offers customizable templates, mobile-responsive designs, and analytics that track opens and clicks. Our tests revealed that the email editor is easy to use, with many options to import and segment contacts. While it may not match dedicated email marketing platforms, it offers enough for small businesses.

SEO features

Weebly offers basic SEO tools for customizing URLs, title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt texts. It supports 301 redirects and automatically compresses large images to boost page load speed. We liked that you can manage product SEO settings right in the product popup window. This keeps SEO in focus. The dashboard shows basic analytics to track site performance, but it doesn’t match the depth of dedicated analytics platforms.

App center

The App Center enhances Weebly with over 350 apps and integrations in five areas: e-commerce, communication, marketing, social media, and site tools. We found good filtering options and a helpful search function. While the selection is smaller than most rivals, it still offers basic options for adding social feeds, managing contact forms, using live chat, etc.

Ease of use

Weebly is built for simplicity, making it one of the easiest website builders currently on the market. It has a live editor that lets you preview changes in real time. For beginners, this makes website creation less intimidating. We built basic pages within minutes of signing up, without needing tutorials or help docs.

The user interface has a clean design. All elements are easy to reach from a fixed sidebar on the editor page. Unlike some competitors that hide options in nested menus, Weebly keeps everything visible with a single click. But clicking any element opens up a few more customization options. The content is organized in rows, which helps beginners, though it feels like a dated approach.

Weebly also offers an All-in-One Accessibility App through Skynet Technologies, a third-party developer. It includes important features like screen readers, voice navigation, and keyboard accessibility, supporting WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 guidelines. But this app needs separate installation and costs more after a free trial.

Weebly’s design prioritizes simplicity, which can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, the structured editor helps beginners avoid messy layouts. On the other, experienced designers will be frustrated by the limitations. We also noticed that changing themes can misplace or distort elements, and some formatting options aren’t customizable. Also, the platform sometimes has glitches that require refreshing the page, and the mobile app has very limited functionality compared to the desktop version.

Despite these drawbacks, Weebly’s usability is its strongest point. The company was founded by three college students who wanted to help people create online portfolios without coding. This philosophy still shines through in the product’s design. For users who want to get online quickly with little learning, Weebly offers a straightforward experience that few competitors can match.

Weebly plans and pricing

Weebly offers three paid plans and a free plan (Image credit: Weebly)

Weebly offers plenty of plans to choose from. For just $10/month (when billed annually) or $13 per month, you can get access to most of the features needed to launch a basic online store with a custom domain name.

If you want even more customization and control over your website, the Professional plan for $12 per month is a better choice. Serious users can also consider the Performance plan, which lets you accept payments through PayPal, automate abandoned cart emails, include item reviews, and get priority support. It costs just $26 per month billed annually or $29 month-to-month.

Security

Weebly offers one-click SSL certificates for free with all of its plans. (Image credit: Weebly)

Weebly offers one-click SSL certificates for free with all of its plans. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) provides an encrypted connection between the server and the browser, so any information sent from the user’s computer is kept secure.

This encryption helps protect your private data from potential hackers or other malicious actors who might try to steal it. It also helps build trust between visitors and the website owner, as customers feel more confident providing their information when they know it’s encrypted.

Weebly also provides DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) mitigation services. A DDoS attack occurs when multiple computers flood a server with requests in an attempt to overwhelm it and take it offline. By having DDoS protection in place, Weebly can help protect against these malicious attacks and keep any site available to its visitors no matter what kind of traffic is coming in.

Customer support

Weebly provides tiered customer support based on your subscription. (Image credit: Weebly)

Weebly provides tiered customer support based on your subscription. Free and Personal plan users can access email support and the help center. Professional and Performance subscribers enjoy live chat. Performance users also have phone support. Our tests showed reasonable response times. Email queries were usually answered within 24 hours. Chat support was available within minutes during business hours.

Support quality was generally good for basic issues. Representatives showed solid knowledge of the platform’s core features. However, for complex design challenges or integration questions, we often got generic responses. These typically directed us to help documentation instead of offering specific solutions. The help center is comprehensive and well-organized. It includes clear articles and video tutorials for most common questions, making it a good self-service resource.

One key limitation is Weebly’s support hours. They are Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm PT, and Saturday to Sunday, 8 am to 5 pm PT. Users with urgent issues outside these hours may face delays. Also, phone support is available only in English, which may be difficult for international users. Overall, Weebly’s support is adequate for a budget-friendly platform. However, it lacks the 24/7 availability and depth of expertise found in premium competitors like Wix or Squarespace.

Alternatives

Weebly is in a tough spot right now. It once held about 13.7% market share, making it the third-largest website builder after WordPress and Squarespace in 2021. However, it has lagged behind since Square bought it in 2018. Weebly is best for absolute beginners on tight budgets or small businesses trying ecommerce with low investment.

Wix is Weebly’s closest competitor and our top pick for most users. It has far more templates (over 900 compared to Weebly’s 50+) and better design tools. Wix also gets regular updates, including AI features that Weebly does not have.

Check out our Wix review to learn more about what the platform has to offer.

For users prioritizing design quality, Squarespace offers more elegant templates and better customization than Weebly. This makes it a great choice for creatives and service-based businesses wanting a strong visual impact.

Our Squarespace review covers the platform in more detail.

For serious ecommerce, platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce offer stronger selling features, though at higher prices. Even WordPress with WooCommerce provides more scalability and customization for growing businesses, but it does have a steeper learning curve.

Weebly review: Summary

Weebly is a budget-friendly website builder for beginners and small businesses. It’s great for those wanting to explore ecommerce without spending too much. It’s easy to use and starts at just $10 a month. Weebly offers strong ecommerce features, like selling unlimited products even on the free plan.

However, the templates feel outdated, there are no new features, and customization options are limited. So, Weebly is a good choice for users who want simplicity and low cost. But businesses aiming for long-term growth might find better options in Wix or Squarespace.

Weebly review: FAQs

Is Weebly free or paid?

Weebly offers both free and paid options depending on your needs. The free option provides access to basic features such as templates, drag-and-drop design tools, etc.

However, if you want access to more advanced features such as custom domain name registration, website analytics, email marketing tools, SEO tools, etc., then you need to upgrade to one of its paid plans.

Which is better, Wix or Weebly?

It really depends on what kind of website you’re trying to build. If you’re looking for something simple and straightforward with limited customization options, then Wix might be the better choice. However, if you want something more advanced with greater design capabilities and flexibility, then Weebly is likely the way to go.

What is the difference between Weebly and the Square website builder?

When you visit the Weebly website you will notice a small Square logo sitting under the Weebly logo. This can be a little confusing as Square offers its own website builder, so allow us to explain

Square is a payment processing platform. In 2018, Square bought Weebly and therefore gained access to its website building platform. However, Square also decided to build its own website builder platform.

Now Square offers a website builder via Weebly and under the Square brand. Although both website builders have some of the same features, they also differ in their offering.

Why doesn’t Weebly have an AI website builder?

Since Weebly was purchased by Square in 2018 it hasn’t seen any major updates. That means that the more recent tools you would find on the best website builders, such as AI website builders, AI text writers, and AI image/video creators, are all missing from the platform.

It doesn’t look like Weebly plans on adding them any time soon, either, so if you want them, you will need to look elsewhere.

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

As the videogame industry continues to be hammered by layoffs, Netflix is offering up to $840,000 per year for a new Director of Generative AI for Games

by admin October 3, 2025

Will Netflix ever actually develop and release its own big-budget videogame? That remains an open question, but it still seems determined to try—and it sure seems determined to do it using generative AI. The company is now on the hunt for a Los Angeles-based Director of Gen AI for Games, and it’s willing to pay an awful lot of money to whoever takes the role.

“We’re seeking a visionary and pragmatic Head of Gen AI to lead the strategy and application of Gen AI across our games organization,” the job listing (via Kotaku) states. “This role sits at the intersection of technology, product, and creativity—driving how we leverage cutting-edge AI to create meaningful, novel, and scalable experiences for players.

“You’ll serve as a key partner to our game studios, technology and platform teams, and leadership. Your mandate is to shape and scale our approach to Generative AI, from core capabilities to in-game features to entirely new forms of play, anchored in both what’s technically feasible and what’s compelling for players.”

Prospective candidates will need to have at least 10 years experience in the industry, “demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end game development lifecycle, from concept to live operations,” along with various other qualifications. In exchange for their service, Netflix is prepared to pay—along with a comprehensive benefits package—a salary range of $430,000 – $840,000.

I find this help wanted ad particularly interesting in the broader context of Netflix’s efforts to muscle in on the videogame business. The company brought on former EA and Facebook executive Mike Verdu as vice president of game development in 2021 and launched its first in-house game studio in 2022. But two years later, the studio closed without even announcing a project, much less releasing one.

Shortly after that, Verdu transitioned from VP of games to VP of GenAI for Games; four months after that, he transitioned into a guy who doesn’t work at Netflix anymore. And now it wants a new guy.

Directors may be cheaper than VPs (emphasis on the “maybe,” I really don’t know) but even if that’s the case, the salary on offer here, especially at the upper range, has not gone unnoticed amidst the seemingly endless deluge of layoffs that have plagued the game industry for years—which, I must mention, includes cuts at Netflix-owned Night School, the developer of the Oxenfree games, earlier this year.

“Sorry, there’s just no money for new projects” “we have to lay off hundreds of people to cut costs” “that show/game/studio has been canceled and closed due to lack of profits”

— @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social (@kendrawcandraw.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-10-03T16:54:29.054Z

Netflix wants to pay someone half a million dollars a year to be “director of genAI for games”.
Your first Unity tutorial project makes you overqualified.

— @coil.bsky.social (@coil.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-10-03T16:54:29.006Z

I am not going to lie – if Netflix wants to pay me half a million a year to tell them that GenAI is a scam and should be avoided this is a service I am willing to provide. I will say it REAL SLOW.

— @willwarmstrong.bsky.social (@willwarmstrong.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-10-03T16:54:29.123Z

Netflix is certainly making no bones about its commitment to generative AI: In May the company said it plans to start showing “AI-generated interactive advertising” in 2026, and in July co-CEO Ted Sarandos gushed about the money and time saved by using generative AI instead of a conventional VFX team in its show The Eternaut, saying, “We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper.”

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Apple Caves to Trump Pressure, Removes App That Let Immigrants Track ICE Activity

by admin October 3, 2025

Apple removed an app that allows immigrants to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on Thursday night.

ICEBlock, an app that was launched in response to President Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown, was modeled after Google’s crowdsourced traffic app Waze, and it gave users a crowdsourced way to report nearby ICE activity.

“We just received a message from Apple’s App Review that #ICEBlock has been removed from the App Store due to ‘objectionable content’. The only thing we can imagine is this is due to pressure from the Trump Admin. We have responded and we’ll fight this! #resist,” ICEBlock said in a post on Bluesky.

ICEBlock received intense backlash from Trump administration officials earlier this year. ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons claimed that the app “basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs,” in a press statement from June.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is now taking credit for the removal, telling Fox News that her office reached out to Apple to demand they remove the app

Earlier this summer, Bondi also went on Fox News to openly threaten ICEBlock’s founder Joshua Aaron. “We are looking at him,” she said. “And he better watch out.” Around that time, Bondi also said that she wanted to prosecute CNN for airing a segment on the app.

Acting director of ICE’s removal operations, Marcos Charles, also suggested ICEBlock and similar ICE tracking apps were used in the fatal shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, although the shooter would have known the location of the facility without a tracker app.

“I am incredibly disappointed by Apple’s actions today. Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move,” Aaron told 404 Media. “This is protected speech under the first amendment of the United States Constitution.”

“Information provided to Apple by law enforcement show that your app violates Guideline 1.1.1 because its purpose is to provide a location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group,” Apple’s email to Aaron read, according to 404 Media.

In 2019, Apple removed a similar crowdsourced app that allowed users to track Hong Kong police movements amidst the Hong Kong protests that were marked by police brutality. At the time, numerous Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the decision and deem it censorship.

“American companies should never be censored or told what to by foreign adversaries,” Republican Florida senator Rick Scott tweeted at the time.

ICEBlock was number one on the App Store over the summer as the Trump administration ramped up its policy of mass deportations and ICE raids, as part of the President’s campaign promise to enact the “largest deportation” in U.S. history.

“In recent years, ICE has faced criticism for alleged civil rights abuses and failures to adhere to constitutional principles and due process, making it crucial for communities to stay informed about its operations,” ICEBlock’s website writes to explain why the app exists.

The app insists that it’s completely anonymous, but that claim has been contested. ICEBlock, the app does not keep a database of user activity, but a database of downloads is available on Apple, and it’s likely that Apple also tracks device registrations for push notifications, according to the founders of other privacy-focused apps who spoke to The Verge about it earlier this year. On the other hand, a third-party security researcher has corroborated ICEBlock’s claims of total privacy and anonymity.

The app was available exclusively for iOS devices, so it’s now unclear what the future holds for ICEBlock and its users.

Source link

October 3, 2025 0 comments