Smartphones have changed drastically the way we connect with people and it has been possible with these devices to contact enormous number of people from family, office, business etc. There is a tremendous increase in the number of contacts an average cell phone holder has and this list is ever increasing.
Android phones are smart and peculiarly the open source nature improves the quantity and quality of apps that can be developed for pure entertainment purpose or serious management and productivity. So, because there are ever growing contacts in your Android Phone, there are ever growing ways to manage them and do a lot of other things while you are at it.
In this post we have collected some tips and Apps that will allow you to manage android contacts on the fly and how to get the most out of your address-book.
Try Google
You can efficiently manage contacts on your Google Account and connect it to your Android phone and save yourself a lot of hassle, time and effort. Also, in case you already have some non Google contacts in your Android phone you can transfer them to Google account for easy management. Unfortunately, there is no direct way of doing it but there is an simple alternative. The process is simple, all you have to do is export the non Google contacts from your Android Phone to a CSV in SD card and then import this file into your Google Account.
Exporting Contacts
You can Export your Android contacts using free software like UiA – Backup Contacts available on the Android market. When you are done downloading and installing this software, you can navigate to applications and tap on the app named as Backup Contacts. After you open it you will have to agree to the licensing terms and then with the help of this app you can Backup you contacts, view your CSV Contact List, upload To Dropbox, or Send To Email.
Importing Contacts
Once you are done with the above step you can locate the CSV file saved in the root folder of your SD card, named as Backup.Contacts.TODAYS_DATE.csv; TODAYS_DATE is the date the contacts were saved. You can then eject the SD card, copy the file to your PC and then import into your Google Account.
Manage Android Contacts On PC
Despite the presence of considerable number of apps available for Android device that allow you to manage contacts, managing contacts on PC seems to be a more simple and less arduous. Now, there are also plenty of apps that will help you to mange contacts on PC but in this post we have chosen MobigleGo to do the task. This app besides efficiently managing contacts also helps you to add, delete, group, and edit contacts, or to import/export contacts on android phone.
Creating Contact Groups
Groups are a nice way to classify contacts according to certain categories so as to sort, search and find them easily. It should however be noted that while creating Groups on your Android devices the Google contacts are excluded as they belong to a separate “Google” group. Which actually means you cannot use Google contacts in multiple groups but you can albeit use Google contacts from within your Google Account to manage these contacts as mentioned earlier.
To create Groups on your Android Device follow the below steps:
Step 1: Locate and tap on the Group tab of the Contact application.
Step2: Enter the menu by taping the Menu button and then create your own group by tapping on the Create button.
Step 3: You will notice that the app has automatically created Groups for authenticated Social Media contacts like Facebook, Twitter etc. You can add contacts to your own created Group by tapping on it and then tapping the add member button.
Step 4: You can now select the contacts you want to add to this Groups an once you are done, tap on the Add Button.
Link the Contacts
Another easy, efficient and quick way to manage contacts is to link an individual contact to a certain other contact which share some of the properties. For example you can Link an employees contact with another employee from the office for fast retrieval and management. To do so, open the contact you desire, scroll to bottom, tap on Linked accounts section and then tap the Add Link Contact button. Next, all you have to do is find and tap on the contact you want to link. You can increase the list of Linked contacts up-to a maximum of 5.
Android Contact Management Apps
There are apps available for Android that are exclusively made to manage and even enjoy your Android contacts. In the next part of this post we have collected —– Android Conatact management apps.
1. Contacts By Contapps Ltd
Contact app is a fun and easy way to manage you contacts and it even allows you to send free SMS to your contacts. It brings all the contacts from Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare & more under one common app. The app also enhances the contacts User Interface and can be put as a contact widget on your home screen.
2. GO Contacts by GO Dev Team
This app is a proficient replacement for stock Android contact app. It features fast search, grouping, duplicates merge and secure backup/recovery and much more.
3. Contact Analyzer 2andron.mobi
Contact Analyzer is a smart way to analyze and remove rubbish contact errors in your Android Contact list. The program fundamentally works by getting information about the contacts and delete duplicates where ever they are found (like phones, emails, IMs, postal addresses). It can also merge account contacts and search for the contacts with identical numbers.
You might alsp try 150 best android apps and must-have android apps for 2012.