Gmail updated with Starred Contacts feature, syncs with Android Favourites

Google has rolled out a new feature for Google Contacts, the contact management tool that is available with Google's proprietary free email service, Gmail. Google Contacts is also available as a standalone service and as a part of Google's business-oriented suite of web apps, Google Apps. The new feature will now allow users to star favourite contacts for easy access to their information from the service.

The data will also be synced with the Google Android devices. The starred contacts are shown as favourites on the People app on Android devices. In its official release Google says, "For Android users, starred contacts will stay in sync with Android Favourites. Starring a contact on desktop will star that same person in the Android contacts, and vice-versa, so one can see and manage contacts seamlessly."

While in the grand scheme of things the new Contacts/Gmail feature might sound like a small one, it is a useful one nevertheless. Android users perhaps will benefit the most, since the feature syncs easily with the People app, allowing for better contacts management. The news comes close on the heels of the new upgrade for Google Chrome for Android and iOS, that will allow a reduction in the use of the data consumption with a new bandwidth management system.

The announcement also comes on the heels of Google announcing that it is trying to better integrate Gmail contacts and the two and half year-old social network Google+, by allowing Google+ contacts to directly email each other via Gmail. With 540 million users, the Google Contacts feature will become an important feature for it too. The change that Google has introduced will broaden the list of contacts available to Gmail users.