Import Gmail Contacts into iPod in 3 Steps

8:09 pm on November 13th, 2007 | Tech

I recently had a chance to browse a 30GB video iPod that my friend has. It really was a very good piece for all those gadget lovers like me. I came across one of the less used features of the iPod – Contacts. I was really impressed with the detail and design of the contacts in iPod complete with an option for a contact image. So I thought why not import all the Gmail contacts into the iPod.

Step 1: Export contacts from Gmail. Open Gmail in your browser windows, go to Contacts and select Export.

export contacts from gmail

Step 2: Import the contacts into Windows Address Book. You can find the Windows Address Book here:

Select Import from the File menu and start the import process as shown below:

Step 3: Open iTunes and Sync your contacts as shown,

There you have all your Gmail contacts in your iPod now! Enjoy! Contact me if you have any problems in comments.

23 Responses to “Import Gmail Contacts into iPod in 3 Steps”

  1. Luciano says:
    November 16, 2007 at 5:04 am

    An easier way to do the same :)

    Reply
  2. Dave says:
    November 19, 2007 at 11:14 am

    did all that. got to step 3. i have no interface that looks like that. i have iTunes v7..6.0.30. any info would be really appreciated.

    Reply
  3. Harsha says:
    November 19, 2007 at 11:39 pm

    When you plug in the iPod to your computer system it shows up in itunes. what does it show when you click it?

    Reply
  4. Dave says:
    November 19, 2007 at 11:56 pm

    there’s no contacts tab at all in iTunes (or any other option that says “contacts”) when i plug in my iPod.

    Reply
  5. Dave says:
    November 20, 2007 at 9:22 am

    okay, i couldn’t see the tab because the iPod registration kept showing each time i ran iTunes. the tabs page only shows when registration is complete. that problem seems to be resolved. i have it synced to the windows address book as shown above, i do the sync, and there are still no contacts showing on my iPod.

    Reply
  6. Harsha says:
    November 20, 2007 at 4:59 pm

    You have the option of registering later or never register. So I guess that problem is resolved.
    Check if you can see all the contacts in your Windows Address Book.
    And when your press sync in iTunes, does the status of Apple logo in the top center area change to anything else?

    Reply
  7. Dave says:
    November 22, 2007 at 8:09 am

    Harsha,

    I’m good. User error. I didn’t realize Contacts are off of “Extra” on the iPod. Thanks for the quick response. Your instructions worked for me.

    –Dave

    Reply
  8. Bourne says:
    November 23, 2007 at 4:46 am

    Hey dude!! please dont mess with my ipod…i cant run around apple stores to get it repaired!! :P

    Reply
  9. Harsha says:
    November 28, 2007 at 8:23 pm

    Dude don’t worry. Your iPod is in safe geek’s hands.

    The worst that could happend is that you’ll get it as an “Do-It-Yourself iPod Assemble Kit” after I’m done with it. :P

    So you better not push me. :D

    Reply
  10. anoll says:
    December 29, 2007 at 10:12 am

    So does this sync the Photos too?

    Reply
  11. Harsha says:
    January 23, 2008 at 1:48 am

    Depend on the checkboxes you check to sync man. Its upto you.

    I’m not sure I got the question right.

    Reply
  12. Bia says:
    June 3, 2008 at 9:38 pm

    Hi

    i successfully put contacts on my iPod.

    HOWEVER, the “instructions” that were in the contacts before i added any contacts is still there (i.e. there is a contact named “instructions”).

    how do i get rid of that? it’s driving me CRAZY.

    please reply if you have a solution.

    thanks!

    Reply
  13. Courtney says:
    June 12, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    Yeah That Hepled Thanx!!!!!!!!!!! :)

    Reply
  14. Paras Jain says:
    January 27, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    Now you can consider syncing it through http://www.nuevasync.com.
    tip: backup your data in itunes before trying.

    Reply
  15. extetry says:
    May 7, 2009 at 1:38 am

    nice! i’m gonna make my own blog

    Reply
  16. Web Hosting Reviews says:
    July 7, 2009 at 5:35 am

    I know personally I couldn’t live without my ipod. Thanks for the post!

    Reply
  17. Phyllis says:
    July 14, 2009 at 9:28 am

    I don’t have Windows. I have a Mac and use Firefox. So I need help. Do I explort to Vcard? Then what??? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Harsha says:
      July 20, 2009 at 2:40 pm

      For MAC, Its pretty straight forward.

      Just export your gmail contacts as outlook csv and import them into your address book.

      Then connect your iPod, open iTunes and sync with address book.

      Hope this helps.

      Reply
  18. falcon says:
    September 19, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    There is a pretty easy way to do this. From the Web browser on you computer, log into gmail, then click on contacts, and Export. Export your contacts in vcf format, then download the Export file to your machine, and e-mail it to yourself on your iPods e-mail account, and click on the attachment, the Ipod or Iphone will handle the rest.

    Reply
  19. pol says:
    September 24, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    no need, itune9 have sync direct gmail –> ipod ;-)

    Reply
  20. Jonathan says:
    July 24, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Thanks! Worked like a charm. :) I synced with Gmail, but for some reason iTunes didn’t automatically grab my contacts. Your technique worked fantastically, so thanks.

    –Jon

    Reply
  21. Travis says:
    May 11, 2011 at 5:56 am

    I had the same experience as Jon. Wouldnt sync with gmail, but this worked great.

    Thank you for this post. The directions everywhere else didnt work.

    Reply

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