It was built with Qt framework for C++, the framework that Nokia is pushing for their devices. I have to say that I’m amazed of how well this framework is supported, at least on the Maemo operating system. I found it very well structured and easy, and above all, it’s widely adopted framework to build reliable cross-platform apps.

As it’s part of Qontacts full suite, this version is also licensed under the open source license GPL version 3. You can find the whole source code on Github.

Qontacts List of Supported Platforms

With the recent support of Maemo, here is the list of Qontacts’s supported platforms.

1. iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)
2. Android
3. BlackBerry
4. Java ME (Nokia Series 40, S60, Sony Ericsson)
5. Windows Mobile (through JavaFX)
6. Maemo (Nokia N900)

How To Download and Install for Maemo

I have uploaded the app on the Extras-devel repository of Maemo.org. To be able to download and install it, you can follow these simple steps.

First, you need to make sure that you have updated your Maemo software, to the latest software release, which at the time of this writing, is PR 1.2 (V10.2010.19-1). You need to add and enable a new application catalog, which is the Maemo extras-devel.

1. Go to Application manager –> Application catalogs –> New
2. Fill the following information to enable the Maemo extras-devel catalog
   1. Catalog name: Maemo Extras-devel
   2. Web address: http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel/
   3. Distribution: fremantle
   4. Components: free non-free
3. Once the new catalog refreshes, go to Download -> Utilities. Start typing qontacts, and you will find it there. Just click on it to install it.

Final Words

I would like to thank my friend Hichem Zait, for his testing and feedback for the Maemo version.

I hope Qontacts was useful, and served its purpose. If you used it, please share with me your comments, and thoughts, I would love to hear them out. Finally, as a friend of mine once said, enjoy your updated Qontacts.

Qontacts is a mobile application, that can update your address book contacts, stored on your handset, to the new Qatari numbering plan, in a fast and easy way. I’ve already introduced the pre-release version last week, and it was very well received by the public, and I was very happy that it did. Here are some of what the media was writing about it:

1. Qatari developer’s number updating software, a major hit
2. شاب قطري يصمم برنامجاً لتعديل الأرقام المحفوظة على الهاتف الجوال

Qontacts Behind the Scenes

This project has been in the making for 4 months, ever since ictQATAR’s announcement. I’m really proud that it is going public for free, that is free as in “free speech”, and free as in “free water”.

I’ve spent so much time, and money, developing it, from buying all sorts of mobile handsets to test on, to getting certified from RIM, and Apple, in order to develop and publish apps on their platforms. However, I was very glad to do it, because I knew that this kind of application will be very important to the Qatari community, and I wanted to help my country, even if that meant to sacrifice, at least I knew the community will find it useful.

I wanted Qontacts to be free for everybody, not just for people who belong to one mobile operator, and not the rest. That made me lose offers, and probably my current job, but I think I’ve made the right choice.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank everybody who participated in Qontacts development, either by testing it, and giving me comments and suggestions, or by giving me the moral support I really needed. These people are:

1. Tariq Alsada
2. Hassan Albader
3. Ahmad Mustafa Noor
4. Ammar Fakhoury
5. Josh Weiner

Finally, I hope that you will find Qontacts useful, and if you did, you can consider donating to help me continue developing such useful applications.

Starting from July 28, 2010, phone numbers in Qatar will be expanded from seven to eight digits. Qontacts works by analyzing your contacts, that are stored on your device, then displays contacts which need to be updated to the new Qatari numbering plan.

I have been working very hard on it for the past 4 months, and so excited that it will get out soon. The iPhone version is already out, and you can get it from the AppStore right now. As for the rest, there will be a BlackBerry, Android, and Java ME versions coming out soon.

Key Features

1. Analyze and display contacts that need to be updated, with how many phone numbers to update.*
2. Preview the updated numbers of your contacts, before you update.
3. Select some, or all of your contacts, to do batch update.
4. Fully localized to Arabic, and English languages.**

* Qontacts smart analysis detects only the Qatari numbers, that are 7 digits in length, or starting with 00974, or starting with +974. It won’t update any updated numbers, i.e. with 8 digits, or numbers that don’t conform to the rules of the new numbering plan, defined by ictQATAR.

** The display language is based on your handset’s settings, for example, if your handset is set to Arabic, it’ll display Arabic interface.

Supported Handsets

1. iOS 3.0 or later (Tested on iOS 4)
2. BlackBerry 4.5 or later
3. Android 1.5 or later
4. Any device capable of running Java ME apps (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, etc)

Screenshots

Here are screenshots of Qontacts, running on the above mentioned platforms.

iPhone

BlackBerry

Android

Nokia

Download the Pre-Release version

A pre-release version is now available. You can download the pre-release version by going to the following URL, from your supported handset device, and it will auto detect your handset, and push the right version of Qontacts to your device.
http://www.qontactsapp.com/download/

The full source code of these apps will be released in the upcoming days on my page at Github.

I will really appreciate the feedback, and please don’t forget to rate the iPhone version.