It really is about time. Google has completely revamped Contacts in Gmail and it is a lot more usable now.
I use Google Contacts as my primary contacts source and even sync it to my iPhone. So, as you can imagine it was a little underwhelming to use Google Contacts so far.
Here are the new features/changes I noticed over the old Gmail Contacts
- New Contacts tab under Mail
- Contacts list fill the entire screen just like emails in inbox
- Contacts view lists name, phone number, address and labels if you assigned any groups.
- Clicking on a contact takes you to the edit screen.
- Edit screen layout is much nicer with a HUGE Notes area.
- Edit pane is much nicer as you just click on a field and start editing
- Contacts screen has a link ‘View recent conversations’ that’ll take you to a pre-filtered view of your mails with that person
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Sort by labels
- Custom labels for phone numbers and other fields
- Undo changes you just made
- Automatic saving of entries
For those who like and have a system with how Gmail works, the new Contacts will feel like home. I really like these changes and I am looking forward to more control when I sync my contacts with my smartphone. I would really like the ability to select groups of contacts like how we select the Google calendar sync with iPhone.
Google has made a lot of these changes so it is easier to use it from Android phones and it is definitely a step in the right direction.
