CNET Editors' review
At the end of the day, Gwabbit's Outlook add-on application is a good idea that doesn't work as well as it should. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. When in top form, Gwabbit added contacts' names, titles, phone numbers, and Web sites to the Outlook address book using information gleaned from an incoming e-mail. When it failed, Gwabbit didn't recognize anything apart from the contact's name and e-mail address, which Outlook can also do. It then prompted us to fill in the rest by scrolling through the e-mail in a separate window and highlight the signature block. Even then, the data transfer wasn't always successful.
Gwabbit's algorithm has difficulty separating the wheat from the chaff in the presence of images, security stamps of the sort that AVG Anti-Virus leaves to OK an incoming e-mail, and contact details that are scattered throughout the e-mail. It's also sensitive to the order of the information and doesn't seem to recognize individual words. As a result, a Twitter username became one colleague's official title in Outlook after using Gwabbit.
Still, those with more straightforward circumstances may yet benefit from Gwabbit's one-click address recording. It's worth a download of the trial software to see which category you fit into. For instance, if your antivirus application doesn't stamp every incoming e-mail and if you meet a sizable number of business contacts via e-mail, Gwabbit could become a favorite time-saving tool.
Publisher's Description
From gwabbit:
Gwabbit automatically scans incoming Outlook e-mails, finds contacts, and instantly transforms them into contact records within your address book with a mouse click. Gwabbit puts your contact fields away in their proper place in the address book and even checks your address book to see if you've already saved a contact previously before re-prompting you to "gwab" it again. Gwabbit employs a remarkable patent-pending semantic technology to identify contact blocks within email text and accurately parse and import them into your address book. No more cutting and pasting contacts one field at a time from your emails into your address book. gwabbit saves hundreds of hours each year for busy executives, salespeople, and others who manage contacts.
What's new in this version: Version 1.2.11:
- Filter domains - this feature lets you filter out emails from domains you pick, selectively disabling the gwabbit alert from popping up for spam, etc.
- Choose your save folder - now you can save contacts in any folder, not just the default
- 64-bit support - gwabbit now supports both 32 and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Outlook
- Improved internationalization - gwabbit now recognizes the "+" sign in phone numbers
- Cloud-enabled - gwabbit can... See all new features
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"Read the License Agreement!"
Version: Gwabbit for Outlook 1.2.11
Pros
CNET requries a "pro", so: It exists.
Cons
To use software, you have to agree that Gwabbit can email your contacts and market to them using your name
Summary
This is paragraph 5 of the license agreement - you know those things you usually don't read? This is unacceptable, and I refused to install the software. I can't use software if it's going to be emailing my clients, vendors, etc.!
5. Third Party Contact Information. When you use the Gwabbit for the Blackberry Licensed Software (and, in the future, other Gwabbit products that transmit information through an external server) to save the contact information of a third party, the Licensed Software may automatically capture and store the third party's contact information. We reserve the right to use this information to send email messages to the third party to inform the third party that Licensor has added the third party's contact information to your address book using the Licensed Software, and/or to promote our products and services. We may include your name and reference your use of the Licensed Software in any such emails. By using the Licensed Software, you agree to our use of your name and the third parties' contact information in this manner.
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