Per this support document, whenever you sync or perform a restore in iTunes, the app creates a backup of the contents of your iPhone. The more pictures, screen snapshots, or video you have stored on the Camera Roll, the longer a backup or restore takes.

The solution to the problem is easy: Make sure that you regularly import the contents of your Camera Roll, delete that content, then sync the content that you must have in your pocket back to the iPhone using iTunes. I had nearly 200 media files in my iPhone 3GS Camera Roll and deleted all of these after syncing and importing using iPhoto on my Mac. I used iTunes to restore content that I needed into the Photo app and I saw an immediate decrease in the time it took my iPhone to back up. Apple provides detailed information on performing these tasks in their support document for Mac OS X, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.

Moving Wiener dog photos and videos of my new puppy to the Photo app from the iPhone Camera Roll improved my backup times.

(Credit: David Martin)

This simple housecleaning effort will reduce the number of media files in your Camera Roll and significantly improve backup and restore times in iTunes. It certainly did for me and it is possible that properly managing your Camera Roll would resolve the issue I wrote about previously where users were plagued by missing photos on their iPhones.

It remains to be seen whether iTunes 9, annouced today, will help resolve this problem in a more elegant manner. Stay tuned.

Step 1 :
On a Mac: sync your contacts with your computer by using iTunes. To do so, first connect the phone to the computer and launch iTunes. Click on the “Information” tab. Click on “Synchronize Contacts” and then choose “Directory Windows.” Next, click on the Advanced tab and, once there, the “Synchronization” button. Your contacts should now be stored on the computer.

Step 2 :
On a PC: sync your contacts with your computer by using iTunes. Connect the phone to the computer and launch iTunes. Right-click on your iPhone icon and select “Back-Up.” If your contacts are ever lost or deleted from your phone, connect it, launch iTunes, and select “Restore from Back-Up.”

Step 3:
Transfer the contact information by hand. Doing it the old-fashioned way is tedious and time consuming, but security is guaranteed and you don’t have to be tech-savvy to do it.

Like they get saved in a text file or something.

I am formatting my iphone and i want it saved on my comp. I dont care if they can be restored or not, but i should be able to see the list on computer.

Thanks

Answer:

1. plug your phone into your computer.
2. open itunes and click on your phone.
3. you will see a tab that says info.
4. click sync address book contacts

My contacts were saved on my computer before it was reformated. I fear that if I let my computer sync, then it will erase all my contacts since my reformated computer no longer carries the past data.

How do I save and restore my contacts and applications without having to do it manually?