PC application to manage contact list?

[DaveNagy]

Hi,

I feel dumb even asking about this, but here goes...

I have a new phone and I need to populate my contact list. I'll be doing this by hand, since I really don't have that info consolidated anywhere else. I could enter the info directly into the phone, but surely there is a better way. It seems like ActiveSync should allow you to add/edit your contacts, but it appears that you have to have Outlook installed?

I assume there must be ways to manage your contact list on a computer, and then sync the info back onto your phone. What's the recommended way to do this? I would prefer a free solution if possible. I'm running XP, and syncing to a Sprint Touch Diamond.

[Geekcop]

You're going to have to have your contacts organized somewhere otherwise, yes, you're going to be entering them manually. That is a pain in the a$$, especially if you have a significant amount of them. To answer your question, you will need to have Outlook installed if you want to use ActiveSync. You could try setting up a Dashwire account, entering the info on your PC, and then syncing with your device. Check www.dashwire.com for further.

[demonlordoftheround]

Can a Sprint store transfer your contacts from the old phone?

[Hafrust]

This would take some effort initially, but you can install Mozilla Thunderbird for free on your pc. Then you can install a program on your phone called Funambol. There is a free funambol plugin for Thunderbird. This would allow you to enter all of your contacts into Thunderbird and sync them to the funambol server. Then you do a over the air sync on your phone with funambol and you have all of your contacts. I recently switched from using Outlook to Thunderbird on my computer and have tested this out on my phone, so I know it works.

[DaveNagy]

Thank you for all the responses. Wow, it seems inconceivable to me that there isn't an app for doing this sort of thing. Or 12 competing apps, for that matter. Are the contacts stored on the phone in some kind of untouchable format?

I don't have very many contacts to enter. Probably only 20 or so. So, I guess I won't bother with any of the more heroic methods. (Buying and learning Outlook, futzing with Funambol) I can just use that MyMobiler app which allows me to mouse, keyboard, and cut-and-paste directly into the phone's interface. That won't be too bad.

Wait, does this mean that I have no way to back up my contacts? Does ActiveSync store my contacts, but refuse to let me look at them on the PC side? Or is it ignoring them completely?

[Hafrust]

The easiest way to back up your contacts without using Outlook, Thunderbird, or anything else like that on your PC would be to use pimbackup. Your contacts are stored in a PIM file on your phone. If you aren't wanting to install any additional software to achieve this, you can copy/paste the PIM file from your phone to your desktop and vice versa, but you will not be able to open it and view it on the PC. It would just be a backup file so you could restore contacts after a hard reset/accidental deletion.

From their website:
The PIM backup application is a tool that allows to backup/restore personal information stored on windows mobile based pocket devices. Concerning the personal information, I refer to contacts, appointments, tasks, messages, calls,...
The backup is totally independent of the version of Windows Mobile running on the device and independent of the device itself. The backup is also independent of the language used on the device. You can easily backup on a Chinese device and restore in a German one.
There are two kinds of backups. The binary based backup has been implemented in order to have a backup/restore process which is fast and more reliable, the disadvantage being that the backup contents cannot be easily modified or viewed.
The text based backup has been implemented in order to see/edit the contents on a pc for instance.

[elosogrande7076]

Originally Posted by Tripdub1

This would take some effort initially, but you can install Mozilla Thunderbird for free on your pc. Then you can install a program on your phone called Funambol. There is a free funambol plugin for Thunderbird. This would allow you to enter all of your contacts into Thunderbird and sync them to the funambol server. Then you do a over the air sync on your phone with funambol and you have all of your contacts. I recently switched from using Outlook to Thunderbird on my computer and have tested this out on my phone, so I know it works.

I tried using this and it made multiple copies of my contacts and appointments, did this happen to you?

[raven]

Originally Posted by DaveNagy

Hi,

I feel dumb even asking about this, but here goes...

I have a new phone and I need to populate my contact list. I'll be doing this by hand, since I really don't have that info consolidated anywhere else. I could enter the info directly into the phone, but surely there is a better way. It seems like ActiveSync should allow you to add/edit your contacts, but it appears that you have to have Outlook installed?

I assume there must be ways to manage your contact list on a computer, and then sync the info back onto your phone. What's the recommended way to do this? I would prefer a free solution if possible. I'm running XP, and syncing to a Sprint Touch Diamond.

There are always other options. You can use MyMobiler to use your computer's keyboard and mouse to enter the information on your PPC. MyMobiler is an application that allows you to view your PPC screen on your computer and allows you to interact with your PPC using your keyboard and mouse. You will still need another application to keep backups of your contacts should something happen. I am a big fan of PIMBackup myself. I have it set to run early every morning before my alarm goes off to store backups of my contact lists and other xml databases that I want copies of in case of a hard reset.

MyMobiler can be downloaded here (it is completely free):
http://www.mymobiler.com/

PIMBackup can be downloaded here (also completely free):
http://www.dotfred.net/

Cheers!