Help Looking up contacts in Jelly Beans

[mercmobily]

Hello everybody,

I am the proud owner for a Galaxy Nexus. I love this phone, and have Jelly Bean on it.
Question: with the "old" Samsung mobile, if I wanted to dial "anna" I would simply type 266 -- that's the first 3 numbers to spell "Anna" in the keypad. A list of matching contacts would pop up, with Anna on top.

Also, if I dialed a number I had already dialed before, the phone would show it. It was very handy to know if I had called somebody before.

Are these features available for the stock Android system? At the moment, I have to press the magnifying glass at the bottom left hand side, and _type_ with the keyboard the name of the contact I want to call... but this is hardly convenient!

Thank you,

Merc.

 

[shelliewnj]

There is a way to make contacts favorites, you push the star next to their name. You can put a favorites widget on your home screen, I believe. I've never used it, I don't have that many contacts in my phone.

 

[Italo]

I don't think the stock dialer has that functionality. I use search on the phone or recent calls. I'm pretty sure Dialer One on the Play Store can do what you're taking about.

 

[gtbarry]

Question: with the "old" Samsung mobile, if I wanted to dial "anna" I would simply type 266 -- that's the first 3 numbers to spell "Anna" in the keypad. A list of matching contacts would pop up, with Anna on top.

From google, Gesture Search. Simply draw the letter(s) to spell the name until you see the one you want to call:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.gesturesearch

Also, if I dialed a number I had already dialed before, the phone would show it. It was very handy to know if I had called somebody before.

In my dialer, the middle icon on the top is a clock face and it shows missed, incoming, outgoing calls by contacts with most recent listed at the top. Each has a phone icon to the right you can tap to dial. This is stock for me on 4.2.1 and I believe I have had it since my first iteration of JB

 

[boyo1991]

as far as i know, there isnt this functionallity in all android phones, just make sure you download the apps listed above, all are of good quality! i personally just go to my contacts and type out there name to call them though..

 

[Mikestony]

@mercmobily--
I moved your thread here to your device forum so others can help out

Thanks to all that have responded already!

 

[gtbarry]

There is a way to make contacts favorites, you push the star next to their name. You can put a favorites widget on your home screen, I believe. I've never used it, I don't have that many contacts in my phone.

This should also work for you. You can go to Contacts and create a shortcut on your homescreen. The shortcuts can be general for the contact, or to specifically send them a text or call them, etc.

 

[nomarsgirl]

Or you can open Google Now and say call Anna.

 

[Deleted User]

HTC Sense, certainly v2.1, had the same feature mercmobily talks about and I miss it too. Useful little feature that made it a bit quicker to make a call.

 

[Turdbogls]

HTC Sense, certainly v2.1, had the same feature mercmobily talks about and I miss it too. Useful little feature that made it a bit quicker to make a call.

yeah, most manufacturer skins added this because....well, it makes sense.
its called T9 dialing or something like that.

CM10.1 has this built in and i use it all the time...i dont even use my "people" app.

i am hoping google sees this as a useful feature and throws it in on 4.2.2 or 5.0.

 

[Tim K]

I've never been interested in T9 as an option, though I've seen this posted before. I've seen Dialer One recommended for those who like that option. Personally, I dial from my history (clock tab in the middle) or my favorites/most called (right tab with the people icon). I think that I call so few people on a regular basis that they are always in the history at the top.

 

[patruns]

Just hit the microphone and say "call Anna". It needn't be more complicated than that.

 

[jj14x]

This is one feature that I miss on my Galaxy Nexus too. Google now works, but at a noisy restaurant or any other place where there are other voices, it has issues.

I don't think the stock dialer has that functionality. I use search on the phone or recent calls. I'm pretty sure Dialer One on the Play Store can do what you're taking about.

I had looked at Dialer One too, and I'm sure it works great. But the permission set bothers me.
"READ SENSITIVE LOG DATA" - why?
"PRECISE LOCATION (GPS AND NETWORK-BASED)" - why?

And
"FULL NETWORK ACCESS", "APPROXIMATE LOCATION (NETWORK-BASED)" - ok - it is not as bad as Precise location, developer states location & internet permission is for "Yandex geo-search" - whatever that is - targeted ads in maps.

Personally, I'd prefer an app that just adds T9 dialing, without asking for these permissions. Make it a paid version, that doesn't require these permissions - fine.