Losing Phone = Losing Contacts? Not With The Android!
If losing one's phone isn't distressing enough, phone owners who lose their phones have to deal with one more setback in the process: losing their contacts. A good number of phone users keep all their eggs -- or, in this case, contacts, in one basket: their phones. It's either these phone users have yet to learn the fine art of backing up their contacts, or there's just "no time" to do so.
Most standard smartphones, and even mid-range phones are equipped with bluetooth, which allows users to send contacts to and from their bluetooth-enabled computers. Some laptop models now come with bluetooth, or the user can purchase a bluetooth dongle for their desktops. Incidentally, Macs all come with bluetooth. Some phones will need you to send contacts entry per entry, but others will enable you to sync in bulk. You may even leave your phone alone while you do something else.
The process of syncing one's contacts may be a brain-breaking exercise for the non-techie. On the other hand, there is a better, less painful way to synchronize and backup your contacts: Use an Android.
For the most part, an Android is highly user-friendly. Contrary to impressions that it's a geek's phone, most of the Android's functions are very intuitive. So intuitive that even connecting your phone to a 3G Internet connection is as painless and easy as tapping a few buttons. But we digress.
The Android, being a Google product, requires you to use a Gmail account for the Android Market. Push email may also be used via the Gmail app. But more than push email and Google Account integration, you can also synchronize your phone's contacts via your Gmail account.
All you need to do is to sign in with your Google account, then setup synchronization.
To setup synchronization, here's the process:
- Go to Settings > Accounts & Sync
- Tap both Background Data and Auto-Sync to enable syncing. This allows your phone to download data in the background, automatically.
- Go to Manage Accounts and click the account you want to sync with your phone. If you use only one Gmail account, then there should only be one entry. If you use several accounts, then choose the account you want to sync to.
- In that section, you may find entries like "Sync Docs," "Sync Contacts," "Sync Gmail," "Sync Picasa Web Albums," "Sync Calendar." Choose the Google services you want to sync to, especially the "Contacts" entry.
- Leave your phone alone while it's syncing. Minutes later, your contacts from your phone and from your Gmail will be merged.
Leaving your phone to sync in the background automatically updates the entries. Thus, as soon as you enter new phone numbers and contact details, you'll find that these are already in your Gmail account as well. No more need to set aside time to sit down and back up your contacts! Your Android will do it for you, as long as you have the Background Data sync function turned on.
Syncing in the background consumes power. So if you want to conserve battery, you could turn off the sync when you're out. Just make sure that you sync at least once a week. It's as convenient as a few taps anyway.
Heaven forbid that you lose your phone in the near future. But when you do, get an Android for your next phone. That way, even if you do lose it too, at least you won't have the added worry of losing all your contacts' details.
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