Do you backup your cell phone data?
I, for one, remember no phone numbers. Or appointments. Or anything really. My phone does it all. I am also lucky…my phone is using Microsoft ActiveSync to keep tasks, calendar, contacts, and email current with the exchange server. Sweet for me.
Lots of phones support this (iPhone, any Windows Mobile device, Android) but the “gotcha” is that you need an exchange server on the other end…so basically that is only available if your employer provides it, except for a handful of overachieveing or thieving individuals out there.
But for those of you without this option, or with a standard cell phone, what do you do? Do you periodically back up you phone? Do you pay $2-$7 a month to have your mobile carrier do it for you? Let me suggest that you should do something…it stinks to lose all your numbers.
An old article, but it may help you:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/125519/dialed_in_back_up_your_cell_phones_address_book.html
Actually, most smartphones will backup to Outlook under Windows regardless of whether you’re running and Exchange Server. This is a small price to pay (~$140) for direct synchronization. iPhone will sync to other applications as well, but under Windows, Outlook is the most complete option. ActiveSync for Windows Mobile devices operates much the same way, so I really can’t imagine having to try to do it manually.
Recently we purchased a Samsung phone with Android on it for our nephew, but it required synchronizing by uploading a CSV file through a website (what idiot thought of that?), so we quickly returned it for an iPhone.
Nice piece and I agree! It’s well worth a couple of bucks to be able to backup your cell phone!
that is kindof shocking…that the Android requires uploading through CSV. It is often a little crazy, what makes it out the door and into production. When users call the manufacturer about some of these things and ask for help, the authors act like it is totally sensible. Take Entourage on the mac, for instance. Once of the approved methods for “exporting” your contacts is to highlight them and drag them to a folder on the OS…which turns them all into individual vcards. Really? no excel option? Or, take Excel 2008…no VB macros! What, was nobody using those?!
So, it seems shocking that the Android you got required this, but maybe it was the decision of one person with his head up his….well, maybe i’ll just say not living in our world…