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Review: Jackery Explorer 500

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One of the benefits and drawbacks of a camping trip is that you’re disconnected from the world and don’t have access to electricity. Enjoying the blissful nature without a care in the world can work for some, but it won’t work for everyone.

For those of us who need to stay connected or can’t leave our technologies and gadgets behind – meet the Jackery Explorer 500.

That’s not to say that the Jackery Explorer 500 is only good for power laptops and phones. Not at all. In fact, that would be quite a waste of all the power it has to offer. The Jackery Explorer 500 is equipped with 518Wh/144,400mAh battery capacity all packed inside a 13.32lb package.

The Design

The Jackery comes in a box-like design with a generous handle for ease of handling. It’s clearly designed for the outdoors with its rugged construction and brightly splashed orange side panels. The bright orange also serves a pretty clever functionality. It makes it easy to find when you’re digging through your campsite and also easy to spot in the dark.

All of the ports are neatly organized, circled, and labeled so you’ll never have to wonder which is which.

The LCD screen displays how much power the unit has left and also the input and output. Overall, it’s a clean and simple look that goes well with the rest of your camping gear.

The construction

This is where I want to give the engineers at Jackery some extra credit points. Jackery units tend to be better built than most of their competitors. And you’ll need to take a closer look to see that. Everything about the unit is well thought out, well-engineered, and serves a purpose.

They use Allen screws instead of Phillips to make assembling and disassembling much easier. The construction of the body is made from hard plastic that can take a beating. On the bottom, you’ll find extra-thick rubber feet that keep the unit in place on a smooth or wet surface. These feet are also held together by Allen screws so you can replace them if they become worn.

The side vents are discreet and generous enough to give plenty of airflows when you’re trying to power intense appliances.

And I usually don’t care too much about built-in flashlights because they’re often a cheap gimmick made to look like “added-value”. On the Jackery, they’re actually legit. I don’t know the exact lumen output of these lights, but they’ll likely rival whatever flashlight currently in your toolkit.

Overall, it’s one of the best build quality I’ve seen on a power station.

The ports

There’s plenty of ports here. All of your ports will be located on the front side for easy access. In the center are your three USB type-A ports each outputting 2.4A. On the right side, is what you’re paying for – the AC port. Just your standard AC port capable set at 110V 500W.

There’s also the DC ports on the left side should you ever have a need. For most practical purposes you’ll be using. The Input port is where you’ll plug the power brick or solar panel into in order to charge the unit.

All ports are clearly labeled and organized for accessibility. One thing I felt was missing was covers for the DC and AC ports. At this price range, you’d think they could cover you with a port cover. Just a minor thing I noticed.

The Capacity

As noted, the Explorer 500 is packed with 518Wh/144,400mAh battery capacity. It’s capable of 500W rated power and has up to 1000W surge protection on the AC port. This means you can plug just about anything into the Explorer including microwaves and hairdryers without concerns.

For the average city dwellers and campers, this is plenty of juice to get you through a weekend. It might even be enough to get you through an entire week.

Real-World Performance Test

At the time of this writing we couldn’t take the Jackery outside to test in the wilderness (Covid-19). So we did the next best thing, which was to test with whatever appliances we could indoor.

Phones & Laptops

We couldn’t complete this test because we couldn’t possibly use and drain our phones and laptops fast enough. We recharged a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (5000 mAh) 15 times for an entire weekend before giving up. The Explorer was at 58% strong despite our efforts.

Our two rotating Macbook Pro 15″ 2018 managed to get up to 8 cycles of charges total and depleted the Explorer’s reserve down to 42%. We had to stop our test as we’ve run out of time and had to meet editorial deadlines.

Powering a TV

For our final test we plugged the Explorer into a 60″ Sony Bravia and played Season 2 of Altered Carbon at 100% brightness. Surprisingly, it lasted for most of the reason only giving its last breath towards the end of episode 7: Experiment Perilous. That’s over 6 hours of continuous TV we managed to squeeze out of the Explorer.

Final Verdict

The Jackery Explorer 500 is a portable power station that’s versatile and reliable. Whatever your needs energy consumption needs are, chances are the Explorer will deliver. The flexibility of the AC outlet being able to handle appliances up to 500W with surge protection of up to 1000W makes it useful in just about any situation. If you live in an area where power outages are frequent, having a reliable portable power such as the Explorer 500 will give you peace of mind should there be an emergency.

At $499, it’s an undeniable value. With the build quality and average shelf-life of lithium-ion batteries, the Explorer will be your always available and always dependable backup power for at least a decade.

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Reviews

Demio SaaS 2025 Review: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

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Interested in signing up for Demio? You can support us by getting started with this link.

I kind of hate the word “webinar.”

I’m not alone, either. You can find it in several lists of the English language’s biggest travesties. It’s a holdover from the heyday of lame Web 2.0 portmanteaus, alongside “webisode,” “netizen,” and “listicle.”

However you feel about the word, the webinar itself is anything but dated. The more work moves online, the more vital webinars become for drawing new clients (and keeping the old ones).

Yet, despite their importance, many platforms still haven’t nailed the experience. Some are clunky, others unreliable.

In this updated Demio SaaS review, we take another look at the browser-based webinar tool by Banzai to see if it still strikes the right balance between simplicity and functionality in 2025. Can Demio stay ahead of the curve—or is it time to move on?

Let’s find out.

What is Demio?

Demio is a browser-based webinar platform designed to make hosting and attending online events as frictionless as possible. Founded in 2014 and now part of the Banzai ecosystem, it was built in response to the clunky, download-heavy webinar tools that dominated the early 2010s.

As this Demio SaaS review shows, that original mission still holds up in 2025. While the pandemic era pushed dozens of companies to improve their virtual tools, many platforms still require attendees to install software or jump through technical hoops just to join a session.

Demio’s solution? Keep it in the browser. No downloads. No plugins. Just clean, streamlined webinar tech that anyone can use right away.

It’s positioned squarely in the SaaS space, with subscription plans that scale from solo creators to enterprise teams. And while it’s optimized for marketing and lead generation, the platform’s ease of use makes it appealing across industries.

Looking for other video communication tools? Check out our Loom review.

Getting started with Demio: Free Trial and Pricing

No Demio SaaS review will be complete without the pricing tier. To sign up for a 14-day free trial, just create an account, and you’re ready to explore the platform.

When you’re ready to upgrade, Demio offers three main plans tailored to different business needs:

  • Starter – $45/month per host (paid yearly). Perfect for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs getting started with webinars. This tier is for one host for up to 50 attendees. It also comes with core features to launch live webinars easily.
  • Growth – $80/month per host (paid yearly). Ideal for growing companies that need more flexibility and brand control. This tier accommodates multiple hosts, with attendee rooms from 150 up to 3,000. This plan also comes with custom branding and enhanced integrations, and reporting.
  • Premium – $196/month per host (paid yearly). Designed for larger teams and enterprise use. This tier comes with dedicated CSM and priority support, premium integrations and custom domains, Demio AI, and access to beta features. With this plan, you can have up to 10 people on stage, with attendee rooms of 150, 500, 1,000, or 3,000.

Demio’s free trial requires no commitment or credit card details. Just sign up, fill out a brief survey on how you plan to use the app, and you’re golden.

Demio Features

Demio keeps things simple without skimping on functionality. Once you’re signed in, you’re welcomed by a clean, intuitive dashboard that puts your upcoming events front and center.

Here’s a breakdown of the core features that make Demio a standout in the crowded webinar space:

Dashboard

Demio’s dashboard is built for clarity. You can quickly scroll through upcoming sessions, monitor your events, and navigate between tabs like Schedule and Events. It’s functional, but still has room to improve,especially when switching between creating and managing events. A unified view would make it even smoother.

Events

Demio lets you create three types of events, each tailored to different use cases:

  • Standard Events – Traditional live webinars where attendees register for a single session at a specific time.
  • Series Events – Great for multi-part webinars or training sessions. When users register for one, they’re automatically signed up for the entire series.
  • Automated Events – Pre-recorded sessions that run on autopilot. Perfect for lead nurturing or delivering evergreen content without going live.

Automated events continue to be one of Demio’s strongest features, letting you scale your content while staying hands-off.

Customization

Before your webinar goes live, the Customize tab lets you tweak everything from registration forms to event visuals. You can upload slide decks, create interactive polls, set up handouts, and even brand your webinar pages to match your company’s look.

For Growth and Premium users, custom domains and branding take things even further—ideal for marketing teams or agencies.

Once you’re ready to get started, you can join your session in the Schedule tab. The layout is familiar, with speakers’ video taking up the left and center while the chat tab takes up the right side.

Only one person can be “on stage” at a time, but you can also add and access materials like slides and videos with the middle button on the bottom toolbar. Meanwhile, the + icon next to the chat box lets users access polls, links, and handouts.

Reports

After your session ends, head to the Activity tab to access attendance reports. You’ll see who registered, who actually attended, how long they stayed, and what they engaged with during the session.

Downloadable CSV files make it easy to follow up with participants or segment your leads—an especially useful feature for marketers.

While the data is useful, the reporting could be more advanced (think engagement heatmaps or behavioral trends). Hopefully, that’s in Demio’s roadmap for the near future.

Integrations

I’d honestly like to see a little more variety from Demio’s integrations. On the one hand, their tilt towards martech integrations makes sense. Webinars are generally used for marketing, and being able to connect with Keap, Mailchimp, or your CRM of choice has obvious benefits.

Still, I think there’s a lot more potential to be had with connecting different software to a video conferencing tool. Translators, editing tools, OBS… the sky’s the limit. 

Perhaps the most useful integration is with Zapier. Their micro-integrations let you connect to PayPal, Gmail, Slack, and more.

Conclusion: Is Demio worth it?

If you’re seeking a platform to create engaging webinars, Demio is a great place to look. It’s as intuitive as they come, with a number of unique features that set it apart from the competition. Even among browser-based video tools, the fact that it works on any browser puts it ahead.

As of now, Demio is completely focused on webinars. It’s a leader in that market, so they’re clearly doing something right. Where it disappoints, however, is where it feels too laser-guided towards marketing. By just slightly expanding a few features (integrations, reports, in-call elements), I think Demio’s potential could be that much greater.

PROS

  • No-download, browser-based platform
  • Quick, user-friendly setup
  • Supports live, automated, and series events
  • Clean, customizable interface
  • Great for marketing and lead generation
  • Solid integrations with CRMs and email platforms
  • Zapier access unlocks thousands of app connections
  • Custom branding and domains (Growth & Premium plans)
  • Strong customer support and onboarding
  • Scalable plans for teams of any size

CONS

  • Limited native integrations outside of marketing tools
  • Reporting could be more robust (e.g., engagement insights, AI summaries)
  • Dashboard navigation could be more streamlined
  • Higher-tier pricing may be steep for very small teams

Overall rating: 8.9/10

Ready to give Demio a try? Sign up here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is demio.com safe?

Yes, demio.com is a secure and reputable site owned by Banzai, using encryption and standard security protocols to protect user data and webinar content.

Is Demio like Zoom?

Demio and Zoom both support video communication, but Demio is specifically built for webinars and marketing events, while Zoom is designed primarily for meetings and general video conferencing.

Is Demio easy to use?

Yes, Demio is known for its clean interface and intuitive setup, making it easy for both hosts and attendees to run or join webinars directly from a browser.

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Business

Loom Review: Features, Use Cases, and How It Stacks Up Against Zoom

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Are you tired of keeping up with long email chains or trying to sync everyone in the team for a live call? If you answered yes, then Loom could be an efficient tool for you. In this Loom review, we’ll unpack how you can use Loom to explain complex ideas, give feedback, or walk someone through a task without going on a live call.

We’ll also explore its standout features, use cases, pricing plans, and how it compares to Zoom so you can decide if it fits your team’s workflow.

What is Loom?

Loom review screen recording
Loom screenshot

Loom is a video messaging app that lets users record and share video messages with teammates and clients. Using Loom, you can record your camera, microphone, and desktop screen at the same time. 

According to online Loom review, this is especially useful for individuals to create tutorials, demonstrations, and presentations, as well as to share feedback. 

Loom users can choose to record with the Loom Chrome extension, the desktop app, as well as the iOS and Android apps. 

Some of Loom’s clients include Brex, Intercom, Postclick, and more. 

Loom Features

Loom review free screen recorder
Loom screenshot

Loom has various features that allow it to seamlessly integrate into a company’s existing workflows. 

Users can play Loom download videos within platforms like:

  • Slack
  • Jira
  • Confluence
  • Github

Why does this matter? Users will no longer be led to an external link, increasing their productivity by playing feedback videos within the platform. 

Next, Loom video has an AI suite that can help teams work more efficiently. Using AI, the tool can:

  • Automatically generate meeting notes and recaps, among other things
  • Instantly create chapters in your videos, as well as CTAs and tasks
  • Create text transcription and generate closed captions
Loom review AI suite
Loom screenshot

To refine your videos further, Loom has features that can remove filler words and silence in a video.

Besides this, Loom also has a video-to-text feature. This is especially useful for asynchronous teams that need help with logging a bug issue, documenting a process, or performing a code review. 

Loom Pricing

Loom pricing is generally straightforward. If you want to know if Loom is free, yes, it does have a free tier. 

Loom review pricing
Loom screenshot

It has a free Starter plan for users who want to try out the app’s key features. It can accommodate up to 50 Workspace users, who are each entitled to up to 25 videos with a five-minute length cap. 

Next, the Business plan is for teams that want unlimited videos and basic editing. It costs $15 per user per month if billed annually. Here, you can have unlimited members get basic waveform editing, remove the Loom Branding, and more. 

According to Loom review, their most popular plan is the Business + AI plan, where teams can get advanced editing and access their AI suite. This plan costs $20 per user per month if billed annually. 

Their premium plan is the Enterprise plan, which is best for companies that want to control and securely manage video content for the organization. If you’re wondering, “Is Loom safe to use?” This plan has advanced security and content privacy features as well as admin insights. Teams need to contact Loom’s sales team first to get a price quote. 

Finally, Loom has a discount plan for educators as part of the Atlassian Education Program. 

Use Case Breakdown

Here are a few Loom use cases:

  • Loom review can be especially helpful for tech teams, as it can be used to narrate a bug issue. When an issue occurs, developers or testers can simply record the issue with Loom and report the issue to the concerned developers. It saves time and increases the turnaround time for bug fixes. 
  • Hiring teams and internal teams can also use Loom to document an internal process for onboarding purposes. Apart from this, it can also be used by customer-facing teams to create user guides on a platform or a new product feature. 
  • Sales teams can also use Loom to reach out to prospective clients. When cold emails are not friendly enough, sales teams can create personalized video content through Loom and stand out.  
  • Taking too long to get feedback from all stakeholders? Loom is great for product design teams to get asynchronous feedback from a global executive team. It’s great for instances where it’s difficult to get stakeholders in one meeting. 
  • Finally, Loom is great for educators and academics who want to create videos for remote classes. 

Loom vs. Zoom

While their names sound the same, Loom and Zoom have different fundamental use cases. In terms of Loom review, Loom is best used to record and send videos, which can be used for demos, tutorials, and feedback. In terms of use cases, Loom is more catered to asynchronous communication and screen recordings

Loom review dashboard
Loom screenshot

Meanwhile, Zoom is best used for hosting live meetings and large conferences. It has features like breakout rooms and virtual backgrounds. While you can use Zoom to record videos yourself, Loom is more optimized to share video links with teammates and clients. 

Final Thoughts: Who Will Get the Most Out of Loom?

Loom is best for companies that need videos for their day-to-day work communication. Whether for external or internal communication, it is great for clients who work asynchronously. In fact, most of their clients include those in the tech and product space. 

Their product is useful for tech, sales, and product design teams that need to align with cross-functional teams. Loom is also best for companies that want to tighten their internal feedback loop, demonstrate processes, and get quick updates. 

Loom review dashboard screenshot
Loom screenshot

Educators, coaches, and course creators can also benefit from Loom’s features. The platform makes it easy to create clear, engaging instructional videos that students or clients can watch at their own pace. With features like closed captioning, video chapters, and transcription, Loom helps streamline learning and knowledge sharing.

Finally, to sum up this Loom review, freelancers and consultants who want to build stronger relationships with clients may also find Loom useful. Just like gadgets that boost team connectivity, like the Deeper Connect Pico, the global workforce can benefit a lot from Loom. Personalized video updates, walkthroughs, or proposals can set them apart, adding a human touch to digital communication that static emails or text-based reports often lack.

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Entertainment

On The Count Of Three Review

A past-due calling card for actor-director Jerrod Carmichael

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WARNING: This review, and this film, contain discussions of suicide.

A Dark Premise, A Wobbly Execution

“On the Count of Three” opens with a bold premise: two childhood friends make a suicide pact and spend their last day on Earth tying up loose ends. It’s certainly fresh, but what makes “On the Count of Three” feel oddly stale despite its originality?

It’s not that we’ve seen too many comedies about suicide before. It does, I suppose, bear some resemblance to other race-against-the-clock (Good Time) or apocalyptic (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) comedies. Maybe it doesn’t commit to darkness as much as these comedies; there’s certainly a humanist core deep down here.

But I think we all sort of know why this movie can’t fully work in 2022: it’s a movie Jerrod Carmichael made in 2020. The director and star has seen a long-overdue rise to stardom in these past months after a series of false starts. He’d already had a breakout role in a hit comedy, a sitcom starring vehicle, a special directed by Spike Lee, and a recurring feature on 2019’s biggest album.

Last month, the stars finally aligned. He came out as gay, dropped a smash-hit comedy special, and hosted SNL all in the span of a week. It’s no surprise that Annapurna Pictures quickly moved to release On the Count of Three, which they picked up at Sundance in January 2021.

On the count of three: two men are talking

Here’s the rub: On the Count of Three lacks the self-assuredness of Carmichael’s recent rise. It doesn’t feel like the film, or the version of this film, that he would’ve made today. His performance as both actor and director is good, but held to a certain restriction.

Two Leads, One Day, A Lot of Pain

Carmichael plays Val, a down-on-his-luck laborer who ventures to commit suicide with the help of his recently-hospitalized friend Kevin (Christopher Abbott). 

While there’s a certain comical bleakness to Val’s life—he essentially shovels dirt for a living—there’s an interesting idea of suicidal ideation here. Val’s thoughts of killing himself don’t come from stagnation or trauma, but from dissatisfaction with achievement. He makes his first attempt right after getting a promotion, and we later learn that he had planned to propose to his now-pregnant partner, Natasha (Tiffany Haddish).

As director, Carmichael wisely avoids eating up the film and splits lead duties with Abbott. If anything, Abbott gets the real star showcase here, again proving his dynamic magnetism after a series of weirdo indie turns like Vox Lux, Possessor, and Black Bear.

The Black Comedy Balancing Act

Still, there’s a classic comedic duo chemistry here. Carmichael is the rock around which Abbott orbits. The setup also gives them plenty of opportunities to subvert that dynamic. When Val’s confrontation with his father (J.B. Smoove) gets heated, Kevin has to be the one to pull him back. But, when they come to blows, Kevin’s the one with the tire iron.

On the count of three, Penn and Teller get killed

Black comedy is always a tricky balancing act. Penn and Teller Get Killed is notorious for going all-in on nihilism and failing to connect. I think this film mostly succeeds, but its uncertainty with its own dark philosophy is, again, reflective of a more self-conscious point in Carmichael’s career.

Bleak, But Also Soft Around the Edges

In Kevin’s first scene, he delivers a monologue about how doctors have been trying to fix him since he was eight years old, and if his life was worth saving, they’d have done it by now. Much of the film follows Kevin’s quest to kill a childhood doctor who molested him (played by Henry Winkler). Ultimately, it’s Val who pulls the trigger, but only after he decides to choose life. His decision to choose life only comes after a guilt trip from Natasha, who lays out how he’ll still be guilty in death if he abdicates his responsibility as a father.

All of which is to say, this is in many ways a philosophically bleak movie. But at the same time, the humanism of the direction kind of betrays that philosophy. There are a lot of monsters around the central players here, but the cashiers, receptionists, and other random side characters they meet along the way are given a stark innocence.

That Ending: On The Count of Three

I’m not sure how I feel about any of this. Is it too bleak? Not bleak enough? Or just not made with enough confidence to come out strongly in either direction? Whatever the case, I think this movie hums along perfectly fine. Until the last minute.

For the most part, On the Count of Three is very insular. We’re never not following Val and Kevin, and it takes place over the course of a day that they spend almost completely alone. 

The final shot, which I won’t give away, finally pulls us out. We recognize that Val’s story is one of a million stories, all different, all wrestling with life and death, and all ending in the same rotten place. It’s certainly the most striking ending I’ve seen this year, and it made me think twice about the film overall.

On the count of three: a man with gun

Final Thoughts

When I’m reflecting on this year, I don’t think On the Count of Three will end up one of my favorites. Seeing how far Carmichael has come, this film’s steady, dry lob isn’t the catapult that Annapurna hoped it would be. Still, it’s a perfectly solid film. It’s absolutely worth seeing for its final shot alone. B
On the Count of Three is now playing at Landmark’s Ritz Five and available on digital.

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