ACT! 2005 Upgrade

List Price: $149.99

Features:

• Helps connect selling professionals with small businesses
• Easily access, organize, and manage contact details
• Time management tools; track sales opportunities
• Integrates with Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds
• Easily share and synchronize contacts and calendars

Customer Reviews:

Buggiest program I have ever used [Posted on 2005-03-04]
I wrote an earlier lukeware review of this product, but after using this now for a month, I'm growing so dissillusioned with this software I'm inclined to uninstall it and write it off as a loss. I've used ACT in various versions since it first came out. I still have ACT 3 which I'm thinking of trying to see if it runs on WinXP because it was tons more stable and less buggy than this release. In fact, as far as I can see there has been little by way of feature enhancement between the two, so all this company has done is introduce massive amounts of bugs into the software. There are too many examples to list but here's one that really annoys me. When I import a text file with my contact names into this product, by default the program puts a country code of +256 in front of every number, which is the country code of Uganda!

You won't see this though until you sync the database to a handheld device. I use a PocketPC phone. When I open a contact on the phone, low and behold every number starts with Country Code +256! So, to fix the problem, you need to go back through each and every record in ACT and specifically define it as US Country +1, now how fun is that???

Another littel gem happens when you use the product in conjunction with Outlook, which the company says is its strong point. Hmmm. Here's what happens. Lets say you use Outlook calendaring to schedule internal or external meetings. It works great. But, at the same time, you want to use ACT calendar to schedule tasks, to-dos an make note of the fact that you have a meeting or call scheduled with one of your contacts. You do this to keep a record in the history database. Now, when you sync, ACT is too stupid to simply merge the two meeting types onto your handheld or into Outlook - no, it completely wipes out your outlook calendar, replacing it which your ACT calendar. So you have to choose between using one calendar vs antother. Seems to me they should give me an option to merge the two together.

I could go on, the list of bugs is almost endless but you get the point. I've ordered an upgrade to Office that includes Contacts Manager. I'll check it out and if it works better - I will indeed remove this program from my machine, write off the expense from my taxes and forget about it!

Integration Problems [Posted on 2005-03-19]
I am an avid fan and user of ACT! 6.0. My database is integrated with ACT! for Palm and WinFax Pro and worked nicely since June 2003. Then, I upgraded to ACT! 2005. First, the software simply ran like it was on a 4 year old system with 64 megs of ram. Luckily, Best Software provided an update the 2nd week of Feb. Then, my ACT! for Palm stopped working. Best Software promises that fix is on its way. But, the real kicker was the refusal by both Symantec and Best Software to provide some solution for WinFax's inability to integrate with ACT! 2005. I contacted ACT! first and was told that because Microsoft is updating to the Longhorn OS, Best Software had to stop integrating with WinFax Pro. Right. They then sugested I call Symantec and ask if they planned to offer an upgraded link to ACT! 2005. After speaking with 2 represenatives who's names I can not spelll nor pronounce, I was directed to call ACT!. I explained I had already called ACT! and she assurred me it was Symantec's division that dealt with ACT!. She lied. The third represenative told me to revert back to ACT! 6.0 and at that point I asked for a refund. WinFax Pro advertises its product as an integration solution for ACT!. I was then handed to a fourth person who said they would call back in 2 days. Right. The real hardship of this situation is now ACT! 2005 only integrates with Faxrush (...). Or, you can continue using WinFax Pro by purchasing an additional piece of software from yet another company (...) which will integrate ACT! 2005 with WinFax Pro. I will be doing the same as the above reviewer and adding this to my 2005 tax write off and looking into Microsoft's contact manager.

Don't see the value [Posted on 2005-05-18]
I just installed ACT! 2005 after using previous versions of ACT for 10 years. I was very disappointed. My custom layouts were not imported, system ran slow (hard drive ran for a very long time) and there just did not seem to be anything new or innovative. I don't think this version is a step up or sideways, but in fact a step down.

I think users on ACT 6.0 should stay on it. I have read other reviews and found nobody who thinks it works well.

Best software needs to go back to the drawing board, start with version 6.0 (which is very good) and only upgrade when they have something new and better.

ACT 2005 Disaster [Posted on 2005-05-26]
Being a user of ACT since 1990, I thought I would continue to upgrade as I have in the past. What a mistake. 6.0 (was no IS) a good product. 2005 has a long way to go.
I would like everyone to know when you transfer your 6.0 database to 2005 there is no way to revert back to 6.0 and bring your notes with.
What a joke.

Disappointed Long Time Customer [Posted on 2005-07-29]
I have used ACT since the first version in the 80's. I tried all the others thoroughly and had settled on Act for the last 5 years and was HAPPY. I decided to upgrade from 6.0 after assurances from the salesman online that my Act for Palm OS would work in the new version. It does not. I have been trying to figure out what the advantages are for ACT 2005. So far NONE. The ACT for Palm Link is terrible. You can't even read past a few letters of the record to know what you are looking at. They need to get their "act" together FAST.

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