contacts saved on the KIN TWOm
denverguy
Newbie

I just spent a few hours keying in all my contacts from my old phone.

Now I'd like to know if there's a way to save or export them to my computer.  If this phone needs to be replaced under warranty and I get another KIN TWOm I sure don't want to have to repeat this tedious process again.

Is there a way to export my contacts that are on my KIN TWOm and import them if needed?

Thanks

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Re: contacts saved on the KIN TWOm
moates
Contributor - Level 3

Unfortunately the ability to import and export contacts is not available on this device.

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Re: contacts saved on the KIN TWOm
LindaBK
Newbie

Given the functionality of Backup Assistant, how is it possible that there is no way to transfer the contact data?

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Re: contacts saved on the KIN TWOm
fisharefriends
Contributor - Level 3

When they 'refurbished' the software of the Kin from the original phones to the m model phones, i guess it somehow 'slipped their mind' to make it compatible with Backup Assist. The original phones were able to backup contacts via the studio and an online cloud backup, which was removed when the phones were re-released as feature phones. So, there isn't even a backup assist app to the phone, and that could largely be due to the fact that the phone was released without the ability to add apps in the first place. backup assist is a separate app, even on other phones, that is downloaded to phones, which this can't do.

 

You can transfer contacts to the Kin phones in-stores, they can direct-connect your old device and the new phone and convert the formats, or whatever is done within. You can't back them up from the Kin however. Many 'actual' verizon stores will be able to do this, but i don't think resellers or smaller 'mall stands' can do this, because they actually have to physically hook the two phones up to a machine.

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Re: contacts saved on the KIN TWOm
LindaBK
Newbie

Thanks for the info, .  While this info solves the problem of initially transferrilng data from my old phone to a new KIN TWOm, it raises another concern.

 

My old phone's address book is maintained ln my computer.  I have an extensive address book, and I regularly maintain it on my computer and then sync my phone with the computer to update the addressbook data in my phone.  Will I lose this capability if I switch to a KIN TWOm phone?

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Re: contacts saved on the KIN TWOm
fisharefriends
Contributor - Level 3

I am not sure if it would be possible. You probably already know, that backup assist syncs the backup to an online database, that you can access through My Verizon. I am not sure if there is a 'sync with computer' option from the website, if it could grab your outlook, gmail contacts, etc. Assuming it could: then it would be similar to treat the backup assist and your computer as the same source. Now, from there, like stated, you can get contacts from backup assist to the phone (it requires a trip to the store): i'm not sure if they have to physically hook up a separate phone, to the kin phone, to do so. But if they do, then it would be about as simple as loading the backup assist contacts to a separate phone, and then hooking up that separate phone to the Kin. I don't know if you own the phone, or if you are currently shopping, but the phone does have a hidden programming menu (accessed by dialing ##77647266488, access code is 000000; note that you have to dial this from the 'phone app', you can't call it from a saved contact, etc because it isn't actually dialing a number, it is just running a process that goes to the programming menu). In that menu, there is a contacts menu, and in there, an import contacts, and export contacts.

 

screenshots of the programming menu:

screenshot_20110115T17030383.jpgscreenshot_20110115T17032484.jpg

 

The problem: no one knows where the phone imports from, or where the phone exports from. When you press export, it will say 'contacts successfully exported!'. My guess is, it creates some 'standard' file type containing your contacts, and when you go in-stores, the machine that they use accesses the actual memory of the phone, and in whatever folder it stores it in, they can just pull it from there, or import a file into the phone in the same manner. I do know, that a while back, i was playing around in this menu and accidentally pushed 'import contacts', and then i had duplicates of every contact, which was a pain to go through and delete. So it seems likely that they have that file type i mentioned ont he phone, and depending if you push import or export, it'll either create the file, or import that file type into the phone contacts list (maybe..could it be as simple as connecting the phone to the computer via usb while pushing this button..?? but i doubt it, its never that easy with microsoft; maybe you or someone else can try it though, just in case :smileywink:).

 

I don't know how much computer knowledge you have, but I read another thread saying they were trying to use a workaround, with a program called 'Python' (also another method in-progress called 'bitpim') to access and edit the phone, both its code, and just as a file on the computer (think, mass storage device-type access). I also read somewhere that someone was able to open the phone's contents ont he computer, but the problem was he couldn't open individual files like they were locked, or read-only. But I bet, if you can open it up on a computer, then you can pull the file out, or copy one in, and then it would make transferring contacts possible at home on any PC. But, if you're like me and either/both don't have the knowledge or the time to figure this out, then you have to live with no exporting contacts. If you do have this computer knowledge though, go ahead and try it out.

 

With one exception, i bet in-stores, they are able to access the phone's files and pull out that export file, so maybe they would be able to transfer that to My Verizon, or another phone/database to back-up. Just to warn you though, Verizon reps are not computer science majors, so they likely wouldn't be able to figure this out (if they haven't already, that is), and from my experience, most reps don't even know that this phone was re-launched.

 

I'll just ask though, if you do figure this out, please share :smileyhappy: Many, many of us would like to know.

 

Edit: Here is a link to the microsoft forums that has an extensive, technical discussion about reading the phone as a usb device, editing the phones and trying to get contact importing/exporting to work, etc. Within this thread, 3 other threads working ont he same thing are also linked.

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/pmxphone/thread/9b23d62d-f399-4957-9d42-4a443fb55bc...

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