TechnologyCrowd

One of the great things about an Android based phone is that it imports your contact information directly from Gmail if you already have the information in Gmail.  Since I started using my BlackBerry device about a year ago, I have been synching my contact information so all of my emails and phone numbers were already there.  When I purchased the Motorola Droid, I entered my Gmail sign-in information and almost instantly I had all of my contact information available.

For people that are not already synching their contacts with Gmail, especially if you are not using another smart phone, that might not sound like a great thing.  I will soon be adding a Droid Eris on my family plan for my daughter who currently has an LG EnV.  If you purchase the new phone from a retailer they can port the contacts, but for some reason the stores make you wait for a rebate that you can get as an online discount by purchasing online through Verizon Wireless.

The solution, is to use the Backup Assistant on the existing cell phone to store the contacts and export that information into a Gmail account so you do not have to manually type each contact.  Please note that the existing phone must be active for this to work, make sure to plan ahead and do it before activating the new phone.

Backup Assistant can be downloaded through the Verizon Media Center on the phone.  As long as you have an online account with Verizon there should not be any monthly fees although you may be charged for the mb usage to download the application (I am not sure about this since I have had it installed since the phone was purchased).  For more information on installing backup assistant you can do directly to Verizon.

After you have created the PIN and backed up your contacts on the old phone you can view them online by logging into your My Verizon account from a PC. On the left side of the page under Quick Links look for a link to “Manage My Contacts.”  Now you should be able to see all of your contacts, at the top right hand section of the page there is a button to “Export to CSV.”  Click on that link and save the file where you will remember its location.

Now you have the contact information and you are ready to import it into Gmail at www.gmail.com.  If you do not currently have a Gmail account you will need to create one, if you already have an account that you plan to use sign in.

Once you are signed in click on Contacts on the left side of the screen.  On the top right of the screen there is a link for Import.  Click on that link and browse to the location of the CSV file that you saved and click import.

If you previously had a Gmail account you may need to merge some contacts to make sure that email and phone numbers are all under the same contact.  This is common if you have phone contacts just using a first name or nickname and emails using full names, etc.  This can be accomplished by reviewing your contacts and if they need to be merged you check both contacts and select merge at the top of the screen.

Now you have all of your cell phone contacts imported into Gmail and when you activate your Droid phone it will have all of your contacts available and ready to use.