Ondrej Holzman The basic Contacts application in iOS is certainly not the most modern fad, it lacks several features that users would certainly welcome, and therefore from time to time a developer comes up with an alternative solution for managing and viewing contacts on iPhones and iPads. The Thread Contact application is such a case.
Thread Contact tries to add some features and options that basic Contacts can't, while also approaching contacts in its own, distinctive style. The interface is clean and simple, the capital letter A jumps out at you when you start it for the first time. Scrolling through contacts is done by selecting a letter and all contacts whose names or surnames begin with that letter will be opened.
This is a change from the basic iOS application, where either names or surnames are placed under the letters, but not both together. There is a question whether the variant in Thread Contact is better, but it does not suit me personally. In addition, if you have a company listed on some contacts, Thread Contacts will treat it as one of the names and list the contacts under letters other than their first and last names, which makes things even more confusing. Honestly, this system makes no sense to me. (Version 1.1.2 fixed this bug, and lists no longer include companies or nicknames.)
And one more thing that bothers me about Thread Contact in this regard - it does not offer a classic list of all contacts, which means that the only way to search for contacts is through individual letters, and sometimes this is not the happiest. There is still the possibility to search through the search field, but it simply does not replace the classic list.
However, movement and navigation in the application is otherwise very intuitive and simple. There are no back buttons, traditional swipe gestures are enough for everything. For a quick return to the first screen with letters, the first icon in the bottom panel can be used. It is the main signpost of the entire application.
In addition to the contacts themselves, Thread Contact also has a dial pad for dialing a number, and the application naturally fully cooperates with the built-in iOS application. Another button is used to create a new contact. You can enter any data you can think of - from photos, to names, phone numbers, addresses, to social networks.
I see the big weapon of Thread Contact in the ability to create groups of contacts, which is a feature I really miss in the basic iOS app. You then add contacts to the groups by checking the appropriate box in the details of each contact.
All data for individual contacts can be "opened" in a certain way. Clicking on a phone number will make a call immediately, an email will create a new email message, clicking on an address will take you to the Google Maps web interface, and another link will open the browser again. For each contact, you also have the option to share individual data (by e-mail or message), you can send an SMS to the given contact or create a new event in the calendar directly from the contact details, an interesting option.
Favorite contacts, which also exist in Contacts in iOS, are used for quick access. However, there is an advantage that the selected contacts can be dialed directly, without the need to click on the given contact. A call log is also available on the iPhone, but only with the name and date when the call was made, no other details. On the iPad, where Thread Contact also works, this statement together with the dial is missing for understandable reasons.
The last feature not mentioned is Facebook and Twitter integration. Personally, however, I don't see the point in the presence of these social networks, because once you enable their integration, all contacts from Facebook or Twitter will be imported into your address book, and at least I don't want that.
I may have been critical of Thread Contact, but that's because if I'm going to replace a core iOS app, the replacement has to be perfect. As soon as you use an alternative instead of the built-in application, it usually brings its own pitfalls (for example, using the Chrome browser instead of Safari), but this should be compensated by the perfect functionality of the application. And unfortunately I don't see this with Thread Contact. It's certainly an interesting concept, but I personally can't imagine Thread Contact replacing Contacts on my devices.
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I always miss the display of the call history in contact managers, I don't use the default app in iOS at all, the "phone" app is enough for this, where contacts are also available. Is there any app that can do both? I was hoping for Cobook, but also nothing.
I use GoDial - free
... also has listings
They keep saying I don't have a suitable name.
it feels like an Android Ice cream sandwich ... and overall I don't like it very much.
Me, what about sync? How do you work with this app? Does it work normally through iTunes or is something special required? That's what I'm missing in the article, so what about syncing with iCloud, etc.?
Personally, I have nothing against basic contacts on iOS. Yes, they are not perfect yet and they have not yet been fine-tuned, e.g. contact groups, but the possibility is there for those who have a Mac in their address book or for others to create groups and assign contacts to them via the iCloud website. The question is how often do you sort your contacts into groups (most people go through this only once and then add or remove someone from time to time). On iOS, for example, I also like the connection with maps and GPS locations.