One of my big complaints about WebOS when I reviewed the Palm Pre was the lack of any ability to set favorite contacts.  This means you must scroll or search through the entire contacts list just to make a phone call or send a text message.  This was a real problem, which I hoped would be solved by one of the early entries to the app Catalog.  Alas, no such luck.  Fortunately, I found exactly what I was looking for in the Homebrew Apps Catalog, with Quick Contacts.

Quick Contacts should look pretty familiar to anyone who has used other mobile operating systems.  These photo dialers have been around for a while, but are really pretty scarce on WebOS.  I will say though that Quick Contacts is one of the best I have used on any platform, and I gladly donated $5 to the developer (which gets you unlimited free updates).

The main screen of the app is divided into two regions.  The upper region, which occupies the majority of the screen is your photo dialer.  You get two pages of contacts, with nine photos on each page.  That means 18 contacts total, which worked just fine for me and my typical five contacts I call regularly.

The bottom region gives you access to all of the tools you need to keep in touch with everyone.  There is a button here leading to your contacts, SMS text messaging, email, and phone dialer.  Which gives you access to all of the people you might need to contact, but are not among your top 18 friends.

Adding a contact to the 18 photo slots is easy.  Just tap any empty slot to open your contacts list.  Scroll (or search) to the one you wish to add and tap it.  That’s it.  If there is a photo assigned to the contact, then it will be displayed in the Quick Contacts photo dialer.  If not, then Quick Contacts will simply display the name, with a generic silhouette.

What I really like about this one is the way it blends two different approaches together.  Many photo dialers allow you to either tap the photo and dial one of the numbers assigned to the contact automatically (which means creating multiple entries for contacts with more than one number); or call up a contact card requiring multiple taps before you start dialing.  Quick Contacts gives you both.

By default, when you tap on a newly added contact, you will be taken to the contact card.  From here, you can dial or SMS any of the programmed numbers, or send an email.  This is fantastic.  One of my big complaints about contact programs in the past has been the exclusion of a link to email.  So, I was thrilled to find this functionality here.  The only thing missing was the contact’s address.  Even though you cannot send a paper message from the Quick Contacts app, it would be nice if addresses were displayed, for easy reference when writing a letter or message.  To get the address, however, will require only one extra click.  Just tap the contact icon on the bottom of the contact card to call up the appropriate entry from your contact list.

Of course, this only addresses one of the approaches I mentioned.  We still have not covered one touch dialing.  To do this, all you need to do is set a preferred number in the contact card.  Once the preferred number is set, tapping the contact from the main screen will dial the preferred number automatically.  Tap and hold the photo on the main screen will then open the contact card.

I have to say I really tend to gravitate to apps which work with me, rather than requiring me to change how I work to match the app, or compromise my needs to the app’s abilities.  I do not want some developer half a world away deciding how I should use my device.  That is what was so great about Quick Contact.  Whether you SMS, dial, or email, Quick Contact will give you quick and easy access to your most commonly used contacts.  Likewise, whether you want to open a contact card and choose from a menu of numbers and email addresses; or simply tap and dial, this is the app for you.  Pretty much the only thing it could not do was dial using my Google Voice number.  That being said, Google Voice is a relatively new service, so I can forgive them for setting a few other priorities ahead of that.  That being said, the developer has told me Google Voice is on his radar, so hopefully there will be plenty more to come.

Quick contacts is currently available as a free homebrew app, however, it is expected to be in the App Catalog soon.

What I Liked:

• Instant access to most commonly used contacts
• 18 slots over two pages of photo contacts
• Easy to add contacts
• Easy to dial, email, or even send a text message
• One touch dialer

What Needs Improvement:

• Contact addresses are not displayed on contact cards
• Cannot dial using Google Voice

Related posts:

1. Quick Look: Quick Dialer for Palm Pre
2. Face Contact Offers CoverFlow-like Today Screen Contacts Plugin
3. Google Voice Among Ten New Apps In The Palm Pre App Catalog
4. Quick Tip: Update All of Your WebOS Apps At Once
5. Palm Pre Updated To WebOS 1.1