The Droid X Verizon Contacts application is just AlphaWare foisted on
unsuspecting consumers.
I waited, what, 8 years to go from a Razr to a smart phone. Wouldn't you
think that in that time Contact applications would be out of Alpha? I
made that mistaken assumption.
I had a Palm Pilot and Missing Sync to sync things to my Mac. It worked
fine. I never bothered to put my Contacts on my Google Account. That
was a terrible mistake on my part. Apparently the Droid X is incapable
of handling Contacts "properly" so that I could get my contacts from
my old Razr phone. Verizon did a two step with the phone before I got
my hands on it when it first came "alive". So I don't know exactly what
they did, but it wasn't pretty. They apparently put my phone contacts and
my Google contacts onto the Droid X. But some were in the phone account,
some were in Google account, and there is no manual to describe how
to reassign them, or even deal with them adequately.
I bought Missing Sync for Droid X. That failed pretty miserably
for Contacts and Calendar to/from my Mac. They owned up to the broken
calendar part right away, and with a bit of convincing they owned up
to the fact that the Contacts part isn't working right either. It has
been a week or more. No word yet on either. So much for rescuing the
situation with my in sync Address Book contacts on my Mac.
So I've been fussing with Contacts on the phone. I finally figured out
that once gone bad, there are not the tools to fix it on the phone.
Today, I put in all 140 or so contacts into my Google Account. And
synced with Google and with the Verizon backup. I think about 34
sync with Verizon, and all of Googles get to the phone.
But there is a mess with what account they are in. Some are in "null"
and "Google". Some are in "Google", "null", and "Phone Contacts".
I have no idea how this all happened and after 3 weeks I have found
no phone tools to fix it. Some have only Linked profiles(1). Some
have Linked profiles(2). Some have Linked profiles(3). I think
three is the maximum. The number is the number of the accounts they
appear to be in.
And just where is the manual page on Linked profiles? I mean a
meaningful description, not the sentence or two I found in the
virtually useless Droid X 69 page or so manual that describes
nothing in any detail at all.
How do you copy/move a contact from one group to another once
it is assigned? Shouldn't it be an editable field? It isn't.
Why, when it is in more than one account, does it recognize that
for repeated information like address and list that only once,
but the Home Page is repeated for each account it is in even
when it is identical. Alphaware, that's why.
Why are there two of some of the contacts? Even though they contain
the same information? No rhyme or reason I can see by looking at
settings. Alphaware, that's why.
I have emailed Pogue Press with my complaints. Hopfully, someone
there gets on Verizon's case by trying to write a manual for it.
Good luck!!!! Oh, yes, it is that Verizon did not write a decent
Contacts interface with Android. That IS the problem! Not an Android
problem at all. And what, Verizon has been selling Android phones
for a year now. And Contacts is still in Alpha!!??
So much for my simple minded idea that I could maintain ONE account
for ONE set of contacts and simply sync them between my Mac, Google
Account, Phone, and Verizon.
It all is still in Verizon AlphaWare!
I now have all 3 versions of export for my "correct" list I put
in my Google Account today. I must remember to NEVER put a new
contact in the phone first. Always put it in my Google Account
first, and export it to at least a csv before risking it with
syncing. Changes on an existing contact do seem to migrate to
my Google Account. But only 34 are in the right account to get
to the Verizon backup.
How dreadfully disappointing!!!!
Almost everything else on the phone works. But the second thing
it should be able to do is broken. First: make calls. Second:
maintain contacts. But I can make it be a flashlight or a level
with no problem at all!
So my bottom line suggestion to new users is: make sure all your
contacts are on your Google Account. Sync it from your Google
Account and you will probably be all right. And don't even bother
with the Verizon contact backup. Doing it this way you don't
even need that and it is likely to cause you grief until they
figure out how to get it out of Alpha.
Sigh.
unsuspecting consumers.
I waited, what, 8 years to go from a Razr to a smart phone. Wouldn't you
think that in that time Contact applications would be out of Alpha? I
made that mistaken assumption.
I had a Palm Pilot and Missing Sync to sync things to my Mac. It worked
fine. I never bothered to put my Contacts on my Google Account. That
was a terrible mistake on my part. Apparently the Droid X is incapable
of handling Contacts "properly" so that I could get my contacts from
my old Razr phone. Verizon did a two step with the phone before I got
my hands on it when it first came "alive". So I don't know exactly what
they did, but it wasn't pretty. They apparently put my phone contacts and
my Google contacts onto the Droid X. But some were in the phone account,
some were in Google account, and there is no manual to describe how
to reassign them, or even deal with them adequately.
I bought Missing Sync for Droid X. That failed pretty miserably
for Contacts and Calendar to/from my Mac. They owned up to the broken
calendar part right away, and with a bit of convincing they owned up
to the fact that the Contacts part isn't working right either. It has
been a week or more. No word yet on either. So much for rescuing the
situation with my in sync Address Book contacts on my Mac.
So I've been fussing with Contacts on the phone. I finally figured out
that once gone bad, there are not the tools to fix it on the phone.
Today, I put in all 140 or so contacts into my Google Account. And
synced with Google and with the Verizon backup. I think about 34
sync with Verizon, and all of Googles get to the phone.
But there is a mess with what account they are in. Some are in "null"
and "Google". Some are in "Google", "null", and "Phone Contacts".
I have no idea how this all happened and after 3 weeks I have found
no phone tools to fix it. Some have only Linked profiles(1). Some
have Linked profiles(2). Some have Linked profiles(3). I think
three is the maximum. The number is the number of the accounts they
appear to be in.
And just where is the manual page on Linked profiles? I mean a
meaningful description, not the sentence or two I found in the
virtually useless Droid X 69 page or so manual that describes
nothing in any detail at all.
How do you copy/move a contact from one group to another once
it is assigned? Shouldn't it be an editable field? It isn't.
Why, when it is in more than one account, does it recognize that
for repeated information like address and list that only once,
but the Home Page is repeated for each account it is in even
when it is identical. Alphaware, that's why.
Why are there two of some of the contacts? Even though they contain
the same information? No rhyme or reason I can see by looking at
settings. Alphaware, that's why.
I have emailed Pogue Press with my complaints. Hopfully, someone
there gets on Verizon's case by trying to write a manual for it.
Good luck!!!! Oh, yes, it is that Verizon did not write a decent
Contacts interface with Android. That IS the problem! Not an Android
problem at all. And what, Verizon has been selling Android phones
for a year now. And Contacts is still in Alpha!!??
So much for my simple minded idea that I could maintain ONE account
for ONE set of contacts and simply sync them between my Mac, Google
Account, Phone, and Verizon.
It all is still in Verizon AlphaWare!
I now have all 3 versions of export for my "correct" list I put
in my Google Account today. I must remember to NEVER put a new
contact in the phone first. Always put it in my Google Account
first, and export it to at least a csv before risking it with
syncing. Changes on an existing contact do seem to migrate to
my Google Account. But only 34 are in the right account to get
to the Verizon backup.
How dreadfully disappointing!!!!
Almost everything else on the phone works. But the second thing
it should be able to do is broken. First: make calls. Second:
maintain contacts. But I can make it be a flashlight or a level
with no problem at all!
So my bottom line suggestion to new users is: make sure all your
contacts are on your Google Account. Sync it from your Google
Account and you will probably be all right. And don't even bother
with the Verizon contact backup. Doing it this way you don't
even need that and it is likely to cause you grief until they
figure out how to get it out of Alpha.
Sigh.