I recently had trouble with my contacts and calendar entries in Entourage: they disappeared. No backups on the PC side were current, so they were basically not useable. A sync from the iPhone meant the loss of all contacts on the iPhone. This lead to a full restore and the attempt to find a way to export the iPhone contacts (fail). After taking the risk and doing a post-restore sync, everything returned to normal.
I just emailed Apple some feedback. Here it is, as sent to Apple, warts and all:
Hello. I have a few comments regarding the iPhone, iTunes, and their related applications.
1. It would be convenient to be able to export the iPhone contacts to a .csv file straight from the iPhone. You may have received this feedback before. In worst case scenarios, this functionality could help restore a number of contact lists in various applications, such as Address Book, Entourage, Outlook, Gmail, etc., especially since a .csv file is a pretty universal way of important contacts from one application to another.
2. The option to restore iPhone data from a backup without going through a full restore should be available. In times when there is a problem with a loss of data, either on the iPhone or PC side, where a sync doesn’t help or actually makes this worse, data recovery from a backup could solve the problem. In these cases, a full restore isn’t really necessary when all that is required a simple data recovery. Case in point: you don’t always reinstall Mac OS X when restoring from backup files or using Time Machine, do you?
3. The option to have the iPhone overwrite the contacts and calendar entries on the PC should be available. Right now, only a sync or the option to have the PC overwrite the iPhone is available. In times when data problems are on the PC side, being able to restore from a perfectly fine iPhone would be a simple solution.
4. Address Book, Mail, and iCal could benefit from being a single power application, taking an example from Outlook and Entourage. Information from each sub app can be kept in a three, different, single database files (instead of, for example, separate files for each and every single email) to save HDD space. A single app would also mean only one app open instead of three, when all three are needed at once. As a single app, enhancements can be made, such as adding a project manager, a notes sub app that integrates nicely with the iPhone, an email campaign manager for small businesses, etc…
I appreciate your time, and hope that you consider these suggestions.
Thank you,
Phillip