One of my favorite Mac apps ever came out of beta on Thursday, offering an incredibly simple and efficient way to handle your Address Book contacts: Cobook – ” the smart address book for your Mac”. I’ve been using Cobook for a couple of months, and I’m thrilled with how well it performs.
Cobook essentially replaces Address Book on your Mac, for all intents and purposes, although it does sync with your Address Book library so it won’t mess up iCloud syncing with your iOS device, and all of your contacts will continue to be stored on the cloud.
Among the apps biggest highlights are its remarkable efficiency and easy of use. The app mostly lives in your menu bar, and can be called up using a hotkey. Adding and searching for contacts with Cobook is a breeze. In fact, it’s almost enjoyable! However, Cobook also includes a full desktop app that operates outside of the menu bar – a fantastic addition hat make it easier to thumb through your contacts and edit information.
One of the most useful features of Cobook is its deep integration with social networks. Cobook interfaces with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and can automatically extract pictures from any of those services and sync with with your contacts.
The best part of Cobook, however, is the price: Cobook is 100% free! I’m thrilled to see Cobook on the Mac App Store, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to make the most of their Address Book (free, Mac App Store link)!