Zopeo is a new website that bills itself as a “global whitepages”. Companies should always be careful of using words that might be country specific and Zopeo has fallen into this trap – “whitepages” means nothing in the UK, and I’m sure isn’t the only country that they’re targeting that would be the same¹.

You enter a name and region and it will show you everything that it can find on a particular person. Naturally I tested it with my own name and a region of “UK” – and, I have to say, there’s plenty of content on the web about me so this should be easy

Oh.

The results are split into a number of section. At the top if a collection of profile images it found – as it only found 3 it just repeats these 3 a number of times.

Under that are the details of each social profile it found – in my case LinkedIn, Flickr, Facebook. It then repeats the same 3 social profiles again. I am on, a LOT of social sites where my profile is accessible – for whatever reason this has failed to find the vast majority.

Next up are images, the overwhelming majority are nothing to do with me.

Next, videos. One YouTube video is shown and it’s for Caroline Artiss, a chef.

Lastly, a long list of news items. In all cases they refer to “Artists”.

I did much the same search for other people and found the results scant. Certainly, a simple Google search seemed to return better results.

Zopeo is, unsurprisingly, based in the US and I’m guessing it has a bias towards looking for information from that country. The site indicates they can look for “aliases / maiden names, relatives, current and past roommates, property ownership, nationwide criminal records, bankruptcies, tax liens, civil judgments, assets, website ownership, and a lot more.” Sadly, I saw little of this. If they are going to call themselves “global” they need to make sure their reach is further than their own country.

So, is this a global “whitepages”? No. In fact it needs a lot more work before it even begins to be useful.

1. UK translation – “Telephone Directory” [↩]

The Internet is an unorganized jungle of 121 billion webpages. But, FindTheBest is clearing the brush in order to: 1) Simplify the quest for unbiased information and 2) Empower the consumer – particularly the electronics consumer.

What does this mean for the gadget enthusiasts?

It means vigilant techies can:

1. Research information that is free of marketing and paid search results.
2. Compare smartphones, tablets, laptops, HD Televisions and other electronics using filters and sorting functionality.
3. Then, make an informed decision – all under one, digital roof.

For example, if you don’t know which laptop is the most rugged, has the lowest price or the fastest processor speed, FindTheBest has an answer.

If you can’t decide which tablet is the best host for your GameStop obsessions or your inventory management software, FindTheBest has an answer.

If you’re wondering which smartphone has the highest-quality camera capabilities or uses infrared technology, FindTheBest has an answer.

To give you a clear picture, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 4s Vs. Droid Bionic:

How?

With a growing database of almost 700 listings, FindTheBest compiles data from a variety of sources – Government and institutional databases, research from expert analysts, sophisticated algorithms and user-generated data. Experts verify all this information before publication.

Why?

FindTheBest creator, Kevin O’Connor, developed the idea in the face of his constant struggle to find answers online.

He believes, “you can find anything on the web but it can take you hours or days of research to compile it into a useful form to make a decision.”

People are using multiple sources to seek objective information then conducting their own side-by-side comparisons after a painstaking research process. FindTheBest is the first broad-based comparison engine tackling this problem head-on, by helping people make informed decisions quickly.

From antivirus software, to ski resorts and snowboards, Findthebest.com has it all!

I recently purchased a Samsung fridge freezer from Appliances Online - a company I’d not used before. Their prices were cheap and they offered good extra services (recycling, installation, specific slots for delivery, etc).

I was delighted therefore to receive a phone call from them beforehand to discuss the delivery and make sure I was happy with the service. They even chatted about the particular product that I’d bought. All of this was then spoilt by them attempting to sell me an extended warranty – it was as if the entire call and general niceties were simply building up to this. A friend of mine also bought from this company and had the same call – however, he got a much harder sell and it left him regretting purchasing from them.

In my case, though, it has a happier outcome. When the fridge freezer arrived a part was broken. I rang Appliances Online and they were very apologetic, transferring me to Samsung to arrange for the part to be swapped out. They then continued calling me at regular intervals to check if the part had arrived and my problem was resolved – this service more than made up for the warranty sell at the beginning.

Samsung, however, should hang their head in shame. After very precise instructions on what part was broken they sent the wrong out as a replacement. After then speaking to them again they, once more, sent the wrong part. Each time it took weeks between talking to them and the eventual delivery of the incorrect part. It was only after the third call to Samsung that they managed to ship the correct item to me – now, many weeks after my initial delivery.

The first couple of times I spoke to them I did so via Appliances Online. The third call, however, I made directly. Not that it was easy – they make it very difficult to find an appropriate number for their customer services. When I finally did get the right part it was Appliances Online who rang to check it was okay – I never heard from Samsung.

Samsung has a reputation for poor customer service and this certainly didn’t do them any favours.

So, hats off to Appliances Online. They’d retain custom more however if they cut out that warranty call, no matter how much money they may make from it.