Google Contacts is Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

's contact management tool that is available in its free email service Gmail

Gmail

Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google. Users may access Gmail as secure webmail, as well via POP3 or IMAP protocols. Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though...

, as a standalone service, and as a part of Google's business-oriented suite of web apps Google Apps

Google Apps

Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and...

.

2010 major update

On 10 August 2010, Google released an updated look for Google Contacts. The update truly integrated Google Contacts with the rest of Gmail. The new features included in this big update include the following:

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Last name sorting
• Custom labels
• Undo
• Automatic saving
• Structured name fields
• More prominent notes field

The older version of the Google Contacts user interface is available at the Google Contacts official website.

Device synchronization

Currently, Google Contacts can be synchronized with mobile devices and operating systems (e.g., Android, Symbian

Symbian

Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...

, iOS, BlackBerry

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

, Palm

Palm (PDA)

Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...

, Pocket PC

Pocket PC

A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...

) or with PC applications (e.g., Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...

) via third party software, and Google's own Google Sync

Google Sync

Google Sync is a service from Google that provides over-the-air synchronization of Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar with PC and mobile device Mail, Calendar and Address Book applications. As you switch phones, tablets, and computers, your Gmail, address book, and calendar are synched to...

. In addition, any system that can sync via Microsoft's ActiveSync

ActiveSync

ActiveSync is a mobile data synchronization technology and protocol developed by Microsoft, originally released in 1996. There are two implementations of the technology: one which synchronizes data and information with handheld devices with a specific desktop computer , and another technology,...

 can sync with Google Contacts.
Google Contacts can be synchronized using Google Sync

Google Sync

Google Sync is a service from Google that provides over-the-air synchronization of Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar with PC and mobile device Mail, Calendar and Address Book applications. As you switch phones, tablets, and computers, your Gmail, address book, and calendar are synched to...

, which is available for BlackBerry

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

, Apple devices

IDevice

iDevice in its widest sense, is an unofficial general term that can refer to any mobile electronic devices marketed by Apple Inc. that start with "i" or more specifically any mobile devices that use the iOS operating system, which includes:* iPad* iPhone...

, Nokia/Symbian

Symbian

Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...

, and Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...

. There is also support for mobile devices that support the Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol and/or the SyncML standard. There is built-in support for Google Contacts in Google's open-source mobile operating system Google Android.