Dear Google,

I just want to say thanks for the wonderful Buzz you have given me. Not that you haven’t already cached and parsed every tweet I ever made on Twitter, but Buzz has helped me to recognize and accept my sole reliance on you. You know who I email. You know who my friends are. You know where I am all day long thanks to the GPS in my Android phone. I’ve sold my digital soul to you in every possible way (except photos — Flickr is still better). Now I’ll be coming to you every few minutes for the Buzz I need to get me though my day. Finally, I look forward to the day when you will use all the information I have happily given you to serve me ads for all sorts of wonderful things — before I realize how much I need them. I thank you in advance for this. You already know how much I hate shopping.

Your Truly,

Tom

PS – I am not kissing up because my Gmail storage is more than half full. Of course, if you magically added, say 10 gigabytes, it would help me to know that you are really listening (or parsing, at least).

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Introduction

With the release of Verizon’s DROID, and with several other new Android phones on the way, more and more people are making the switch from older PDAs and smart phones to Android. A big part of this involves moving contacts (names, addresses, and emails) over to Gmail, which syncs with Android. Many of us have accumulated contact information over time using other applications such as Outlook or Palm Desktop. This guide is meant to help people import contacts easily into Gmail, which will then sync automatically with their Android devices. Gmail offers a way to import contacts from other email applications and address books (up to 3000 contacts at a time).

The entire process can be divided into two main parts: (1) exporting contacts from the old program, and (2) importing contacts into Gmail. Part 1 depends on which program you are exporting from. Part 2 will be the same for all programs.

Part 1: Exporting contacts into a CSV file

CSV stands for “comma-separated value,” which is the type of file you will need to import your contacts into Gmail. The exported CSV file needs to list contact information in a certain order, but email programs such as Outlook will take care of this for you (I think Mozilla Thunderbird will too, but I haven’t tried it myself). Other programs, such as Apple’s Address Book and Palm Desktop, export contacts using a different format called vCard. It takes an extra step, but these exports can be converted to a CSV formatted for Gmail using a simple, free web application. So start by selecting from the email applications below.

Exporting contacts from Outlook

(tutorial credit: Microsoft)

1. In Outlook, on the File menu, click Import and Export.
2. Click Export to a file, and then click Next.
3. Click Comma Separated Value (DOS), and then click Next.
4. In the folder list, click the contacts folder you want to export, and then click Next.
5. Choose a location on your computer to temporarily save the file.
6. Type a name for the exported file, and then click OK.
7. Click Next.
8. Click Finish.

Exporting contacts from Apple’s Address Book

To export contacts from Apple’s Address Book application simply select all of the contacts you want to export, and drag them to your desktop. Now you need to convert the addresses from vCard format to Gmail’s CSV format. Click on this vCard to CSV Converter link. Click “browse,” and navigate to the file with all the contacts you just exported. Next to the word “Format” select “Gmail (CSV).” You don’t have to change anything else. Click the “convert” button and it will give you a file to download. This is the file you will use to import your contacts into Gmail in part 2.

Exporting contacts from Palm Desktop

First, start up the Palm Desktop program and click the Contacts or Address Book icon in the left-hand column (whichever one’s there). Then go to the File menu and select “Export . . .” Then pick “vCard” as your export type and save the file to someplace convenient. Now you need to convert the addresses from vCard format to Gmail’s CSV format. Click on this vCard to CSV Converter link. Click “browse,” and navigate to the file with all the contacts you just exported. Next to the word “Format” select “Gmail (CSV).” You don’t have to change anything else. Click the “convert” button and it will give you a file to download. This is the file you will use to import your contacts into Gmail in part 2.

Exporting contacts from other mail providers

Google has a good tutorial on how to export contacts from other email providers here.

Once you have a CSV formatted file containing your contacts, here is how you import it into Gmail (tutorial credit: Google):

1. Sign in to Gmail.
2. Click Contacts (located below your list of views, usually on the bottom, left) on any Gmail page.
3. Click Import in the top portion of the Contact Manager.
4. Click the Browse… or Choose File button and locate the CSV file you’d like to upload.
5. Select the file and click the Import button.

Once you’ve successfully uploaded the document, Gmail will display the number of contacts imported, as well as any duplicates or contacts that could not be imported.This definitely beats entering all your addresses in by hand!

What about Calendars?

Someone asked me about transferring calendar info to Android, which can be done with any program that will synchronize with Google calendar at least once. It really depends on which mobile device or calendar program you are currently using, so here are a few options for syncing other devices with Google calendar (I’m sure there are many others):

• Outlook: http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=89955 (free Google app)
• Palm: http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9087/new-google-calendar-palm-sync-tool/ (free and paid options)
• Blackberry (and other phones): http://www.gcalsync.com/ (free PC app)

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New Favorite Apps

I am still very happy overall with my G1. Especially now that I have root access to my phone I can do even more, like tether my laptop to my phone’s Internet connection via wifi. At the 1-month mark I made a list of my top 20 Android apps. That list has changed quite a bit, so here is my new list of top 20 Android apps. Interestingly, only 5 of these apps were on my first list 9 months ago. They are marked in bold. All the apps below are free unless marked otherwise.

1. Where – Displays movies, weather, etc. based on your location. It also has voice recognition and Yellowbook search, which presents you with address and phone numbers of businesses based on your location which you can then call or look up on a GoogleMap with a click or two.
2. BeyondPod ($2.99) – A Podcast app that allows you to manage podcasts and even update them over wifi. (So iPod Touch, why can’t you do this?)
3. Sky Map – Allows you to see stars, planets, and constellations just by holding your G1 in the direction you want to look (including the ones beneath the horizon). The digital compass, accelerometer, and GPS to move your phone around and see different areas of the sky. A very cool example of what augmented reality (AR) apps can do.
4. Wikitude – This is another great augmented reality app, but this one lets you “see” cities and landmarks close to you by holding the phone in front of you and turning in any direction. Selecting the names on the screen pulls up the web page for that city or point of interest in wikipedia.
5. Places Directory – Google’s version of Where. I can’t decide which one I like best so I use them both. Places uses you location to look up restaurants, shops, parks, and other points of interest. You get addresses and phone numbers you can use to locate or call whatever it is you are trying to find.

6. Twidroid – Still the best twitter client for the G1.
7. Toggle Settings – A great app for dimming the screen and turning off the ringer, etc. (Keeping the screen brightness down is a great way to save your battery.)
8. Locale – Uses your location, time of day, and other conditions to automatically adjust ringer, volume, wifi, and other phone settings. You can even have it change your phone’s background image based on where you are! (I was thinking of having a nice, sunny landscape appear everytime I leave Logan. Then when I get back in town, it would revert to a picture of a cold, snowy mountain.)
9. aTrackDog – Keeps track of your updates. Also lets you list all your installed apps and email them to others or yourself. A good app to have especially if you are going to root your G1 or change your ROM frequently.
10. ShopSavvy – The barcode scanner app that allows you to compare prices and read reviews
11. Shazam – Analyzes and (somehow) recognizes songs being played on radio, TV, anywhere you can get a 10 second sample.
12. Meebo IM – A nice IM app that works with most IM clients. And, unlike the built-in IM app, this one doesn’t cout each message as an SMS.
13. JET CET PDF – ($0.99) Still one of the only PDF viewers currently available.
14. My Maps Editor – If you don’t use GoogleMaps much then you can skip this app. My Maps Editor lets you create and save custom maps right from your phone. It also lets you access maps you have created and saved from your computer.
15. Orienteer (displays compass and GPS coordinates — a must for geocaching)
16. GeoBeagle – Fun for geocachers. Uses you current position to identify the closest geocaches in your area via a search on geocaching.com.
17. Linda File Manager – A good file manager for browsing your files on your phone and microSD card
18. Meridian – One of the best video players out there.
19. Voice Recorder – Allows you to record audio using a very small format (.3gp) that plays with any quicktime player. Even a 30 minute recording is small enough to email to someone – and this app has email functionality built-in.
20. Camcorder – This is the only app I will mention of the ones included with the phone. It’s not that the video even looks very good on my G1. But the new cupcake version of Android allows you to upload video directly to YouTube. It won’t be long before the hardware is good enough to leave the camera and camcorder at home. (For example, here is Sony Ericsson’s version upcoming Android phone. 1 GHz processor. 7 megapixel autofocus camera. Enough said.)

Honorable mentions

1. Nav4All – Currently this is an app without a user interface. They say it’s coming. I haven’t used it much because it’s still so clunky, but Nav4All is an example of the potential the G1 has to be a voice-enabled navigation system. The good news is that Nav4All is free (for now, at least). If you want a more developed system and have $35 to spend, try CoPilot Live. gNaviHelper is also an option at $9.99. (I haven’t tried either.)
2. GPS Tracker – This app allows you to post your current position to hidden or public URL — even has a Facebook plugin. I have young kids, but I can see lots of uses for this app coming soon. The only problem with this app (other than the creepiness of broadcasting where you are all the time) is that it uses a lot of battery to keep it running.
3. PF Voicemail – A nifty app that replaces your regular voice mail, allowing you to see who has called and let you listen to only the messges you want. I would like to see voice mail transcriptions similar to Google Voice. The only issue with this app is that you have to set your phone to permanently forward voicemail to a new location. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it would be a pain to change it back to regular voicemail. (You would have to call your carrier to have it changed back.) Fortunately the app works great, so this switch worked out fine for me.
4. BarTor ($1.49) – If I were a pirate (and of course I am not) — I would buy the G1 in a second for one app and one alone. BarTor (aka Torrent Droid). While there’s no denying the legal, um drawbacks, the ability to scan a barcode somewhere and have it magically sent to your home computer where it starts a BitTorrent download while you are still out “shopping” is enough to make you want to talk like a pirate and run around wearing  a fake eyepatch.

Root apps

5 more apps for those with root access (from my last post):

• Wifi tether (free here) — This is the single coolest reason to root your G1 phone. It allows your to use your G1’s data connection as a wifi access point. This is great alternative when staying in a hotel that charges for wifi. For those on a 3G network, this is actually pretty fast (a little less than DSL speeds). The G1 will prompt you when someone is trying to connect, so you can control who uses it. (It also works via Bluetooth, if you prefer that.) I’ve used wifi tether to create a mobile access point in the car. My wife used it to surf around on her iPod Touch on a recent road trip. Very cool.
• Backup for Root Users (free on Android market) — Backs/restores all your apps and settings to your micro SD card. Even compatible with App2SD.
• SetCPU ($0.99) — This app overclocks the G1 up to 528 MHz (384 is normal) when you are using it or when it’s plugged in, and can also “underclock” the processor down to 128 MHz when in sleep mode to save battery life. No reported problems with this level of overclocking. Very cool!
• App2SD ($0.99) — This app partitions the micro SD card of your G1 so you can install and run apps from there. It seems to have some compatibility issues with JF 1.5.1, so unless you really need the extra space for apps, you may want to wait until the installation is a little easier. Here are some folks who seem to have figured out a workaround for anyone who is feeling adventurous.
• JF Updater (free on Android market) — Since you can no longer receive OTA (over the air) updates, this app does the same thing for rooted G1s. When a new JF update is available, it will offer to download and install it for you.

A Caveat

In all my praise for the G1 I should point out that my experience with the Android phone includes some long pauses and a few “not responding” messages too. This probably has as much to do with all the programs I run at the same time as it does with Android. Besides this and the woefully short battery life, my only other complaint is that the processor they chose for the G1 is really not adequate for many of the apps that have been showing up on the Android Market. I’m frankly disappointed that the G2 does nothing to remedy this problem. I have been able to overclock my processor, so for now this is not a major problem for me.

So while I have quite enjoyed the first 10 months of using Android, I am not claiming that this is the perfect phone for a businessman at this point. My old Blackberry was definitely more solid for the basic email and the few other things it could do. But Android phones do so much more that it’s hardly a fair comparison. And don’t be too quick to judge Android as a “geeks-only” system. I think this cell phone OS is poised to give the iPhone (and every other smart phone out there) are real run for its money.

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