ContactKeeper

ContactKeeper isn't the sleekest, most stylish contact manager we've seen, but as a basic, easy-to-use program for keeping contacts up to date and in one place, it certainly fills the bill.

ContactKeeper's interface is sparse, but in a functional way. Intuitive buttons run across the top of the window for adding, opening, editing, and removing new contacts. Adding a contact is as easy as clicking the Add button and entering the name, address, date of birth, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and important notes for each new contact. Each new entry's details display clearly on the right side of the window. The Options menu lets you easily set up a birthday reminder for your contacts. The Calendar feature is nice for quick, at-a-glance views of the month ahead, but don't expect to do much here beyond changing the calendar's layout and color: You can't actually add any calendar entries or reminders. And while you can't import contact information from other programs, ContactKeeper does include an Export feature that lets you save and print selected information. Much like its interface, the Help feature is sparse, consisting of a link to the publisher's Web site. Thankfully, the program is intuitive to use.

If you want all the bells and whistles, ContactKeeper isn't for you. But if you're new to contact management tools or just like programs that get right to the point, it's worth checking out. ContactKeeper is free and it installs and uninstalls without any issues. We recommend it for all users.