Shake To Call And More Comes To Live Address Book App, Addappt

By

None of my contacts ever look this happy.
None of my contacts ever look this happy.

The problem with the native Contacts app on your iPhone is that you have to keep the addresses, phone numbers, and emails updated on your own. If your friend moves, or gets a new number, it’s up to you to get the information and enter it correctly into your Contacts app. That’s just so old school.

Addappt is a new app that aims to change all that. You invite others to download and enter their own information in the app, and then every time something changes on their end, the entry in your app changes, too. Better still, the app will push the changes to your native Contacts app, something I’ve not seen before in an app of this type.

Addappt is a fully functioning address app in its own right, and can more than replace the built-in Contacts app. you can create and manage address groups, email or text these groups, and attach an unlimited amount of photos to email from within the app, getting around the five photo limit built into iOS 7’s Mail app.

The new update adds a few features that just might give Addappt even more of an advantage, and a few that seem more padding than substance. You can now define a contact’s number as a favorite, and then–when the app is open–shake your iPhone to call it. You can request physical mailing addresses from some or all your contacts in Addappt to use in sending holiday cards, too.

More functionally, there’s a new badge notification feature on the Home screen icon for Addappt, letting you know when you have new connection requests, and you can invite contacts to download and use Addappt with a text message now, instead of just an email as previously.

When your contacts update their information, they’ll get sorted to the top of the Addappted contacts group (all your friends who’ve joined Addappt), and an orange dot will appear to the left of their image.

The problem with Addappt, and pretty much any of these address book-type apps, is that people need to download and use the app to make it worthwhile. Even if all my early-adopter friends go through the process of answering my invite, downloading the app, and then using it, that leaves quite a few contacts–like my mom, dad, aunts, uncles, etc.–that will never do so. Without a critical mass of Addappt users, the app becomes a “gee-wiz” showcase for how things should work, rather than a seamlessly functioning tool like a Contacts app that does the same thing for all my contacts.

However, it’s a great download even if it’s just for the few contacts that will join you in that act, and it’s got a lot of potential. Even if a few of your contacts keep their info updated, that’s more than currently do, and the changes go to your native Contacts app.

Addappt is free on the App Store now, with the update available free to current users.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.