Recommendation for simple contact manager

UpdatesMess · Thursday at 3:47 PM

I'm looking for a simple address book software for my wife (previously used Starfish's Rex, but I'm having problems installing on Win 11). It needs to be easy to use and maintain and will be almost exclusively used on the PC. It would be nice if it could also sync with an android version, and either be free or have a one-time price. If not, I can always export the key info into Google contacts.

I looked for online recommendations, and saw rave reviews for "Efficient address book", including recent ones, installed it on the PC, but when I used the QR code to get the Android version, it said the site was closed. So, I thought I'd ask here.

Thanks.

rogerrabbit · Thursday at 4:14 PM

Hi,
I am using MyPhoneExplorer from Franz Josef Wechselberger (an Austrian) and I am really happy with it.
It is free, easy to use and synchronising works very well. The Android counterpart is called MyPhoneExplorer Client.

allan · Thursday at 4:21 PM

I'm guessing you don't use Outlook?

UpdatesMess · Thursday at 5:56 PM

No she doesn't. She uses the mail on yahoo.com.

antspants · Thursday at 6:02 PM

UpdatesMess said:
previously used Starfish's Rex

What's rex, where's a page for it? Not Rex, the realestate contact management software?

antspants · Thursday at 6:09 PM

UpdatesMess said:
Efficient address book

Latest Version: 5.60 Build 559 Price: ~~$29.95~~ $23.96 (free 30-day trial)
Worth giving it a try, times are tough but $30 isn't terrible, if it's suitable?

Edwin · Thursday at 7:19 PM

UpdatesMess said:
... looking for a simple address book..., would be nice if it could also sync with an android version...

Google Contacts.

UpdatesMess · Thursday at 10:40 PM

antspants said:
Latest Version: 5.60 Build 559 Price: ~~$29.95~~ $23.96 (free 30-day trial)
Worth giving it a try, times are tough but $30 isn't terrible, if it's suitable?

I did try it on the laptop, and it was fine. But then I tried to find a download for my android phone, and all the links led nowhere, which is when I gave up on it, and removed what I had installed on my laptop to test it before installing it on my wife's.

UpdatesMess · Thursday at 10:43 PM

antspants said:
What's rex, where's a page for it? Not Rex, the realestate contact management software?

This is a Rex:

It was made by the Franklin company.

My wife no longer uses the hardware, but she uses the Windows software on the laptop that will be replaced (just as I use the Palm Desktop software).

UpdatesMess · Thursday at 10:56 PM

Edwin said:
Google Contacts.

That looks like it will work. I will try it tomorrow.

Thanks

UpdatesMess · Thursday at 10:59 PM

rogerrabbit said:
Hi,
I am using MyPhoneExplorer from Franz Josef Wechselberger (an Austrian) and I am really happy with it.
It is free, easy to use and synchronising works very well. The Android counterpart is called MyPhoneExplorer Client.

This looks very interesting. I will test it tomorrow. Thanks.

This may be a dumb question, but the Phone app currently used for making calls automatically uses the information in the phone Contacts app. Can it use the information in the myphoneexplorer client in the same way, i.e., will it link with the Phone app so I can make calls from the Phone app?

rogerrabbit · 2026-07-10T02:37:06-0400

UpdatesMess said:
This looks very interesting. I will test it tomorrow. Thanks.

This may be a dumb question, but the Phone app currently used for making calls automatically uses the information in the phone Contacts app. Can it use the information in the myphoneexplorer client in the same way, i.e., will it link with the Phone app so I can make calls from the Phone app?

Frankly I do not know and I am not sure whether I understand your question correctly. I am using the app only for creating and then synchronising contacts (including phone contacts) and the agenda (and for dragging and dropping files and folders), I have unchecked the synchronisation of the rest. Do you want to keep the phone contatcs of the PC and the phone separated and nevertheless call from the contact list from the other hardware ? Is that your question ?
You can certainly also uncheck synchronisation of the contacts. Or you simply can not use the multi-synchronisation and only synchronise the individually the agenda or (missed) phone calls, or whatever you want. But I don't know whether you can use the separated PC contacts in the phone and vice versa. In Files\Options in the PC app are a lot of options. .. And please use Wifi not the USB cord connection, it works so much better (USB connection was a nightmare for me, it never worked correctly). But this is not the fault of MyPhoneExplorer !
There is also an extensive help file in the software and a forum. You can also ask FJ himself, he is very responsive.

UpdatesMess · 2026-07-10T08:56:03-0400

rogerrabbit said:
Frankly I do not know and I am not sure whether I understand your question correctly.

I apologize for that--I was not clear in what I was asking. Right now, when I want to make a call, I press the Phone icon on the phone, and it automatically accesses the contacts that are stored in the phone in, I assume some Google database in the phone. If I use "myphoneexplorer client" on the phone, will the Phone icon access this database, or do I need to make my calls directly from "myphoneexplorer client"?
I can find that out on my own when I try it before installing on my wife's phone.
In any case, thank you for that detailed response...I will use it when setting up the system.
Re using wifi to sync...absolutely! usb was a nightmare for me also on my phone while using Palm Database and DejaOffice.

rogerrabbit · 2026-07-11T02:59:59-0400

UpdatesMess said:
will the Phone icon access this database, or do I need to make my calls directly from "myphoneexplorer client"?

Yes it will access this (google) database !

(Concerning synchronising: You can also synchronise with other databases, I also synchronise from time to time with Thunderbird (I have phone and e-mail contacts in one set), but only once, than i go back to the default settings. This can be set in Files\Options\Synchro. Be careful with the options; there are so many, it might be not easy to go back to the default settings).

Good luck !

Edit: MPE says on their webpage that you could synchronise without the cloud (ie. without Google). But I do not really know how to do that. There is an option in Files\options\synchro for "internal only", but I do not see what's the difference compared to the first option ("MyPhoneExplorer only"). One needs to try it out !

UpdatesMess · 2026-07-11T13:36:18-0400

rogerrabbit said:
Yes it will access this (google) database !

Good luck !

Thanks.

Recommendation for simple contact manager

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