A Simple Way to Back Up Cellphone Contacts
Pocket-Size Device Doesn't
Need a Computer to Work;
A Mix-Up With Pictures
Cellphones keep getting sleeker and smaller, which means they are also getting easier to lose or misplace. For instance, Motorola's latest model, the SLVR, is so thin and light, you'd hardly notice if it slipped out of your pocket or purse.
And, of course, losing your cellphone can be a disaster, because it contains your address book. In fact, it often contains the only copy of your address book. Except for a few smart phones, like the Palm Treo, most cellphone models -- especially the small ones that are easiest to lose -- don't synchronize with your computer to back up data.
So, how can you back up your data to protect against losing your phone?
Most of the big-name phone carriers offer services that will store your cellphone contacts for a relatively small monthly fee. But these services, which are designed in part to keep you tied to a carrier, aren't widely used, or even well known to most users.
The $39.99 CellStik by Spark Technology plugs into your cellphone and copies your contacts onto the tiny device with the press of a button.
There are also various carrier-independent backup software products out there, but they involve the use of a computer and can be clumsy and complicated. Some use cumbersome cables to attach your phone to a PC, others use your phone's messaging capabilities or Bluetooth functionality to send data onto a nearby hard drive.
But this week, we took a look at a new product from Spark Technology Corp. in San Jose, Calif., that eliminates the need for a computer altogether: CellStik. This $40 product is a pocket-size USB thumb drive with a cellphone adapter on one end and a USB adapter on the other. By plugging the phone adapter into your cellphone and pressing a button on the CellStik, you can have your contacts backed up on the device in just seconds -- problem solved.
In our tests, we found CellStik to be a smart solution that really works, and it's about as easy to use as possible. We did have one problem with it, but that was relatively minor compared with the potential loss of all your contact data when a phone goes missing.
While CellStik doesn't require a computer, it can optionally be used with one. The USB end of each CellStik can be plugged into a Windows PC, so you can view and edit your backed-up contacts via a simple software program. You can then unplug the CellStik and reattach it to your phone, uploading any changes.
In addition to backing up your phone's data, CellStiks can be used to transfer contacts from an old phone to a new one, but you may need to buy a separate CellStik for each phone if they differ in manufacturer or connector type, and use a PC as an intermediate device.
Six versions of the CellStik are currently available for about 70 different models of Motorola, LG and Samsung cellphones, and Spark hopes to introduce CellStiks for Sanyo, Sony Ericsson and Nokia this spring. CellStiks can be purchased online at
www.sparktech.com and Amazon or at retail stores including Fry's Electronics and J&R Electronics.
CellStik can also be used with your computer for viewing and editing your cellphone's contacts.
We tested two of the three CellStik-compatible phone brands: an LG VI125 and two different Samsung SCH-A670s. Backing up the contacts from each phone took just a few seconds after we pressed an arrow-shaped button labeled "Save to CellStik" and waited until it stopped blinking green, indicating that all contacts were saved.
The CellStik software, called CellStik Central, is basic and self-explanatory, listing each of your contacts' names, various phone numbers and other data in spreadsheet-like fashion. We loaded it onto our computer from an included CD, but it's also available as a free download.
After making a few changes in our list of contacts with the convenience of a full computer keyboard -- rather than using the painstaking entry process on our cellphone -- we selected "Save to CellStik" in the software program, detached it from the computer's USB port and reattached it to our phone. By pressing the "Update to Phone" button, we made sure the changes were reflected on our cellphone.
We ran into one frustrating problem with CellStik: in the case of our Samsung cellphone, which has a built-in camera like most new cellphones, the pictures that we had assigned to our contacts were scrambled on the phone after CellStik was used. In two cases, instead of a friend's picture showing up on the cellphone screen during an incoming call, a picture of Katie's mother appeared. That was pretty confusing and also made caller ID via pictures useless.
Spark Technology says this picture mix-up is a problem only with certain cellphones and that CellStik is a backup product, first and foremost, so most users would be most concerned with keeping contacts rather than getting images associated with the wrong caller. This problem only occurs if you reattach the CellStik to your phone and press "Update to Phone," not if you're opting solely to use CellStik without a PC, as a data-backup device. But it's still irritating.
If you'd like to transfer one cellphone's contacts to another, such as if you bought a new cellphone, you can do so using "Transfer Phonebook" in the CellStik's software. It walks you through steps of removing one CellStik from the USB port and inserting another, onto which the old device's contacts will be saved.
Overall, CellStik is a fast and simple solution that could save users from the frustrating ordeal of losing a cellphone and every name and number on it. Its independence from phone carriers and from your PC -- if you so choose -- make it a smart buy, but check first to be sure it's available for your phone. And keep a lookout for photos that might be mismatched with incoming calls.
备份手机通讯录的捷径
现在的手机越来越小，也越来越薄，不过这也就意味著更容易丢或放错了地方。比如说，摩托罗拉(Motorola)的最新款SLVR太轻太薄，如果从口袋或者钱包里掉出来你根本都察觉不到。
手机丢了可是个大麻烦，里面有你的通讯录。而且，对很多人来说，这恐怕都是唯一的通讯录。除了Palm Treo等极个别的智能手机，大部分手机都没法和电脑同步更新数据，小型手机尤其如此。
那么，该怎么备份数据以防手机丢失呢？
绝大多数手机服务运营商都提供通讯录存储服务，只需交付相对较低的月使用费。但这些服务旨在让你牢牢依赖这家运营商，用户们并不常用，大部分用户甚至都没听说过。
也有一些不限定运营商的数据备份软件产品，但需要通过电脑才能使用，而且用起来要大动干戈，非常复杂。有些需要用碍手碍脚的数据线把手机和电脑连起来、有些需要利用手机的信息传递功能或蓝牙技术把数据传送到边上的电脑硬盘上。
但在本周，我们看到了加州圣何塞Spark Technology Corp.一款无须与电脑一起使用的新产品：CellStik。售价40美元的CellStik是一个可以放入口袋的U盘，末端有一个手机适配器，另一侧是USB接口。只要把手机适配器插到手机上，按动CellStik上的一个按钮，短短几秒钟就完成手机通讯录的备份──问题解决了！
测试过程中，我们发现CellStik的确是个实用的精明解决之道，而且简便易用。我们的确也发现了一个问题，但与丢了手机同时丢掉所有联系方式相比，根本不值一提。
虽然CellStik不一定要通过电脑，但你也可以选用。末端的USB接口可以插到一台Windows个人电脑上，通过一套简单的软件程序，用户就可以浏览和编辑备份下来的通讯录了。然后，还可以把修改后的数据上传到手机。
除了可以备份手机上的数据，CellStiks也可以用来在新旧两部手机之间传送通讯录，但如果两部手机的生产厂家不同或者连接器不同，你可能需要各买一个相配的CellStik，用电脑作中转。
目前，CellStik有六种型号，可以用于摩托罗拉、LG和三星(Samsung)共70多种型号的手机。Spark还准备今年春季推出适用于三洋(Sanyo)、索尼爱立信(Sony Ericsson)和诺基亚(Nokia)的CellStiks。用户可以在
www.sparktech.com和亚马逊(Amazon)网站购买，也可以到Fry's Electronics和J&R Electronics等零售店购买。
在CellStik可以兼容的三种手机品牌中，我们测试了两个：LG VI125和两款不同的三星SCH-A670。从按下箭头状的“保存到CellStik”按钮，等待指示灯停止闪烁，表示数据备份完毕，整个过程只用了几秒钟。
CellStik配套软件的名称是CellStik Central，是一套基础明了的系统，用电子表格的形式列出了每一位联系人的姓名、各个不同的电话号码，以及其他相关数据。我们通过配套出售的一张CD安装了这套软件，但用户也可以从网站上免费下载。
我们通过电脑键盘迅速作了几项改动，比在手机上一个个输入方便多了。然后选择软件的“保存到CellStik”功能，从电脑的USB接口安全卸下，然后接到手机上。按住“更新到手机”按钮，手机上的数据也就被相应更新了。
但我们遇到了一个麻烦：在内置摄像头的三星手机上，和每一位联系人相应的图片在用了CellStik之后就乱了。有那么两次，一个朋友打来电话时，本来收集屏幕上应该显示这位朋友的图片，可跳出来的却是别人。这让人深感混乱，而且将呼叫方和图片相连的功能也就失效了。
Spark Technology表示，只有个别型号的手机会出现这个问题，而且CellStik的主要功能是备份数据，所以用户最关心的问题就是保留联系方式，而不是显示正确的图片。只有接入电脑再接入手机后才会出现这个问题，如果单独使用CellStik而不通过电脑就不会出问题。但这还是让人感到麻烦。
如果你想把一部手机的通讯录转到另外一部手机上，例如新买了一部手机的时候，你可以利用CellStik软件的“传输电话簿”功能。它会引导你拔掉USB接口上的一个CellStik，插入另一个，读取旧的通讯录。
总而言之，CellStik简单快捷，免除了用户丢掉手机然后依次重新输入的痛苦。它能独立于运营商和电脑──如果你愿意──之外，由此看来物有所值。但买之前要确保它和你的手机型号相配。如果你的手机有呼叫人图片，也要时刻保持警惕。
