Star Contacts for Blackberry v.1.0 for BlackBerry Reviewed!

Posted
by
Kyle McInnes
on January 27, 2009, at 11:15 AM
in Reviews and Spotlight
. Tags: , , , , , .
Comments: 6 responses
6 Comments

PROs/CONs

I’m not sure whether my displeasure with this app is based on a personal displeasure for contact managers that aren’t the stock Address Book, or something particular about this app. What I can say is that this app looks good, and offers plenty of room to input all kinds of information about the people you keep in touch with. But this application lacks the convenience of being able to import contacts you already have saved in your Address Book, and this is critical for any app designed to manage an enormous contact list. Having said that, paying ten dollars to input all of my contact information for each contact all over again is something you may want to think twice about (though there’s no question that once all of that information is stored, the Star Contacts sorts through them very quickly).

PROs

  • Works well: no bugs and it’s quite fast
  • Looks decent

CONs

  • No option to import contacts from Address Book
  • The price may be hard to justify based on the lack of convenience.

FINAL CONCLUSION

The bottom line is that everything works as advertised. Star Contacts is fast, offers information-rich contact criteria, and it even looks okay. But importing the contacts you already have saved on your device is pretty critical for myself, and without this feature, it makes considerably less sense to spend ten dollars on an application that sorts your contacts as effectively as Address Book, and offers only slightly more thorough information about your contacts (though your contacts’ spouse’s name could come in handy every once in a while).

RATING

3 out of 5

Click here to purchase Star Contacts from our online store.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Permalink

Post Comment

  • JerryD

    Maybe it’s just too early and I’m too grumpy, but what is everyone here trying to pull?

    First, why pay for an app that REPLACES instead of INTEGRATES with the existing app? Yes, it would be nice to have personal info like Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc., but no import? No integration with the data that’s already there? AND I’m supposed to re-enter all the data on my tiny little BlackBerry keyboard? It’s a great keyboard, but really. Really? REALLY!

    And the review – you give it a 3 out of 5 with no import, and no sort? How big a cut are you getting? It might be nice to know if at least it can sync with any existing PIM – like Outlook where I have over 1,200 entries syncing with my BlackBerry – but no mention of this? Do you not own a BlackBerry?

    Not only does this sound like a ZERO out of 5 product, but the review doesn’t rate much higher!

  • JerryD

    Maybe it’s just too early and I’m too grumpy, but what is everyone here trying to pull?

    First, why pay for an app that REPLACES instead of INTEGRATES with the existing app? Yes, it would be nice to have personal info like Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc., but no import? No integration with the data that’s already there? AND I’m supposed to re-enter all the data on my tiny little BlackBerry keyboard? It’s a great keyboard, but really. Really? REALLY!

    And the review – you give it a 3 out of 5 with no import, and no sort? How big a cut are you getting? It might be nice to know if at least it can sync with any existing PIM – like Outlook where I have over 1,200 entries syncing with my BlackBerry – but no mention of this? Do you not own a BlackBerry?

    Not only does this sound like a ZERO out of 5 product, but the review doesn’t rate much higher!

  • JerryD

    Maybe it’s just too early and I’m too grumpy, but what is everyone here trying to pull?

    First, why pay for an app that REPLACES instead of INTEGRATES with the existing app? Yes, it would be nice to have personal info like Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc., but no import? No integration with the data that’s already there? AND I’m supposed to re-enter all the data on my tiny little BlackBerry keyboard? It’s a great keyboard, but really. Really? REALLY!

    And the review – you give it a 3 out of 5 with no import, and no sort? How big a cut are you getting? It might be nice to know if at least it can sync with any existing PIM – like Outlook where I have over 1,200 entries syncing with my BlackBerry – but no mention of this? Do you not own a BlackBerry?

    Not only does this sound like a ZERO out of 5 product, but the review doesn’t rate much higher!

  • http://www.blackberrycool.com/ Jonathan Brandon

    JerryD,

    If you can’t even sync this with a PIM application like Address Book, you can’t for any of the other PIM applications (PIM applications on the BlackBerry are Calendar, Address Book, Tasks and Memopad, just so we’re clear). I assumed this was inferred by a) my comments about not being able to sync with Address Book within the review and b) because you and I both understand this to be a replacement, as you even mention it in the comments you left above.

    You’re absolutely correct: why pay for an app that replaces instead of integrates? I believe I make that case in my review.

    As for the ranking system, I give any app an automatic 2.5 if passes – that is, if it does everything it says it’s going to do. I believe this to be fair. I also gave it one half point extra because of the speed with which I could fly through my contact list and view their details, and because I found the thorough contact information useful (so sue me, I forget my friend’s girlfriend’s name from time to time). But I stopped short of giving it above a 3, a score it barely made, because of the features it lacks and desperately needs: mainly, import and at the very least PIM integration for Address Book alone.

    Why would I take points off for a product review if the product doesn’t do something it doesn’t explicitly say it will do (like integrate with PIM apps)? It simply doesn’t make sense. This is something consumers seem to regularly forget, generally because they want the world form their apps, but more specifically because these features CAN be delivered but simply aren’t (is it really that difficult to implement?).

    I am offended that you would suggest I’m getting a cut of any revenue generated as a result of this review. Nowhere am I screaming from the rooftops “purchase this product – it’s better than sliced bread!”

    I certainly do not get a cut, and I assure you that I am not affected – financially or otherwise – by your lack of a desire to purchase this product.

    All the best,
    Jonathan

  • http://www.blackberrycool.com/ Jonathan Brandon

    JerryD,

    If you can’t even sync this with a PIM application like Address Book, you can’t for any of the other PIM applications (PIM applications on the BlackBerry are Calendar, Address Book, Tasks and Memopad, just so we’re clear). I assumed this was inferred by a) my comments about not being able to sync with Address Book within the review and b) because you and I both understand this to be a replacement, as you even mention it in the comments you left above.

    You’re absolutely correct: why pay for an app that replaces instead of integrates? I believe I make that case in my review.

    As for the ranking system, I give any app an automatic 2.5 if passes – that is, if it does everything it says it’s going to do. I believe this to be fair. I also gave it one half point extra because of the speed with which I could fly through my contact list and view their details, and because I found the thorough contact information useful (so sue me, I forget my friend’s girlfriend’s name from time to time). But I stopped short of giving it above a 3, a score it barely made, because of the features it lacks and desperately needs: mainly, import and at the very least PIM integration for Address Book alone.

    Why would I take points off for a product review if the product doesn’t do something it doesn’t explicitly say it will do (like integrate with PIM apps)? It simply doesn’t make sense. This is something consumers seem to regularly forget, generally because they want the world form their apps, but more specifically because these features CAN be delivered but simply aren’t (is it really that difficult to implement?).

    I am offended that you would suggest I’m getting a cut of any revenue generated as a result of this review. Nowhere am I screaming from the rooftops “purchase this product – it’s better than sliced bread!”

    I certainly do not get a cut, and I assure you that I am not affected – financially or otherwise – by your lack of a desire to purchase this product.

    All the best,
    Jonathan

  • http://www.blackberrycool.com Jonathan Brandon

    JerryD,

    If you can’t even sync this with a PIM application like Address Book, you can’t for any of the other PIM applications (PIM applications on the BlackBerry are Calendar, Address Book, Tasks and Memopad, just so we’re clear). I assumed this was inferred by a) my comments about not being able to sync with Address Book within the review and b) because you and I both understand this to be a replacement, as you even mention it in the comments you left above.

    You’re absolutely correct: why pay for an app that replaces instead of integrates? I believe I make that case in my review.

    As for the ranking system, I give any app an automatic 2.5 if passes – that is, if it does everything it says it’s going to do. I believe this to be fair. I also gave it one half point extra because of the speed with which I could fly through my contact list and view their details, and because I found the thorough contact information useful (so sue me, I forget my friend’s girlfriend’s name from time to time). But I stopped short of giving it above a 3, a score it barely made, because of the features it lacks and desperately needs: mainly, import and at the very least PIM integration for Address Book alone.

    Why would I take points off for a product review if the product doesn’t do something it doesn’t explicitly say it will do (like integrate with PIM apps)? It simply doesn’t make sense. This is something consumers seem to regularly forget, generally because they want the world form their apps, but more specifically because these features CAN be delivered but simply aren’t (is it really that difficult to implement?).

    I am offended that you would suggest I’m getting a cut of any revenue generated as a result of this review. Nowhere am I screaming from the rooftops “purchase this product – it’s better than sliced bread!”

    I certainly do not get a cut, and I assure you that I am not affected – financially or otherwise – by your lack of a desire to purchase this product.

    All the best,
    Jonathan