Today Resco released a significant version update to their Contact Management application. [Press Release Link] I have been lucky enough to participate on the Beta team for the final development of Contacts Manager 2nd Edition and would like to thank Resco for this opportunity, and for supplying me with the application for testing. <Contact Manager Previous Version 1.10 JAMM Review> When Doug looked at the initial release of the program, he was really impressed, and I really think Resco has upped the ante with this new release.  So, How good is Resco Contact Manager 2nd Edition ?

I was showing a co-worker of mine, who had just received his iPhone 3gs, some of the features of Contact Manager 2nd Edition and the response I got was "That looks just like my iPhone 3GS Contact Manager!”. Then after seeing some of the other features like the letter pop-up scrolling, he further commented "Hey! mine can’t do that, I like that!"

An iPhone user impressed with a Windows Mobile application, already that is way too cool, and I think that Resco is to be congratulated on the implementation of this release. Actually, I’ve been using Resco Contact Manager 2nd Edition for the last week and it has become my favorite contact manager and here’s why:

I tested out the finger scrolling for accuracy and ease of use and it is very fast to scroll to and locate a contact, utilizing the letter pop-up scrolling, it is possible to go from A to Z within seconds.  The scrolling is a lot easier in Resco Contacts than on the iPhone, as you can always see which letter you’re on as you scroll through the list.

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When you select the Contact Button the Main Menu Popup is displayed that lets you decisively choose your next action:

The Group Action allowed me to easily check-off a selection of users and perform a group action on those selections,such as sending a message to all in the group, setting a group ringtone, or effectively deleting a group of contacts.

It is possible to sort contacts by category or by favorites.  One thing I did notice is that when the application is closed and reopened, the previously selected category is not remembered.  The same behavior occurs when a category is selected and the keypad is closed.  I found it was quite frustrating to have to keep re-selecting the filtered category, as it is defaulting back to All Contacts in both scenarios.

Here is what the contact layout looks like, which is very finger-friendly with large buttons that performed just the actions that I needed.  All of the main communication choices are available from the Summary Tab:

Here is the  Menu which is easily accessed from the bottom right of the Summary Tab. It  opens up a quick menu to the most frequently used functions including the new Social Networking Features:

So, how do we find the new Locate on Map functionality.  It’s easy.  Just Double – Click on the Address to get the Address Menu and select Locate on Map:

A wealth of information is visible from the detail tabs. I did notice, however, that it is not possible to edit the contact information from the details interface (in-line editing), but rather it is necessary to click an extra time to get to a general WM editing window and the field that you clicked-on to edit losses focus.  I think it would be much more value-added to allow editing from the detail windows, as the current solution losses focus from the field when you select and try to edit.

I really liked the spacious Notes tab which allowed for large blocks of text.

Previous calls are saved and logged into the Call History, where you can select and redial.  One thing that I noticed was that when selecting a contact from the call history by pressing and holding-down with your finger, the menu does not allow for Saving to New Contact, as with the default Phone Manager.  It is necessary to click on the contract to open detail page, where the menu button needs to be pressed before you can “Add a New Contact”.  This has become an inconvenience, as it is quicker to save history calls as new contacts from the default phone application.  Overall, there are too many clicks to get to the various phone functions, as I wish they were available from the main screens.  Here are the features available when holding-down the stylus from the Call History:

The Today Screen Plugin is  large and very intuitive. I found myself using this Today Plugin constantly as a one-stop shop for contact elements, as well as the bluetooth and WIFI buttons for easily toggling on and off these functions. It’s nice having all of this functionality consolidated in one plugin.

As it is easy to miss the functionality of these icons, I wanted to give you a quick look at the comprehensive  Today Screen Functionality, so that you don’t miss out on this cool one-stop function stop.

The First Plugin row opens:

• Phone settings (displays mobile service connection name, ie. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint)
• The Date is to open your calendar
• Time is to open the clock setting
• The Bell is to open the alarm settings

The Second Plugin row opens:

• Favorites
• Contacts
• Call Log
• SMS
• Email

The Third Plugin row, toggles on/off:

• Phone
• Bluetooth
• WiFi
• Phone Profiles
• Phone Lock

Another cool feature…I really liked the size of these pop-up toggles. It’s impossible to miss the toggle button with your fingers

Conclusion: This update to  Resco Contact Manager is a pleasure to navigate and use and is a marked improvement over the previous version.   Overall, the kinetic scrolling was smooth, and the letter bar with pop-up letters made navigating contacts a “snap”. 

What I Liked:

• Most of all I liked the new larger element implementation, so that people can easily find what they are looking for without squinting.  It was a real pleasure using this contact manager, as I am used to straining my eyes with other solutions.  Overall the layout of the various buttons and tabs are very user intuitive and I had no problem finding my way around Resco Contact Manager.
• The Finger scrolling works amazingly well and in my opinion, as well as my iPhone co-worker’s opinion was on even par with  iPhone’s scrolling feature.  I haven’t seen this implemented as smoothly in any other Windows Mobile application.
• The Keypad is large and easy to enter phone numbers and the functionality was fluid and smooth throughout my testing.
• Group Operations makes it easy to select a group and Send SMS, MMS, Email, set group ringtones, and group deletions.
• Facebook and Google Maps  integration round off this new edition of Resco Contact Manager.

What Needs Improvement

• Previously selected categories are not remembered.
• Cannot create a new contact from the Call History.
• In-Line Editing is not possible

Vital Stats:

Name: Contact Manager 2nd Edition

Developer: Resco

Version: Second Edition

Trial: 7 days

Where To Buy: Resco

Price: $24.95

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