Windows Contacts is a contact manager which is packed in Windows Vista and Windows 7, which replaced and retained most of the functionality of Windows Address Book, with an integration of Windows Mail. Windows Contacts uses a new XML-based schema format where each contact appears as an individual contact file, and can saved custom information including pictures. The file in a .wab format and the open standards, *.vcf (vCard) and *.csv (CSV) are also supported. Some uses of Windows Contacts are: a) it is implemented as a special folder in Windows Vista and Windows 7, b) it can import vCard, CSV, WAB and LDIF formats, c) it can export in vCard 2.1 and CSV formats, d) it can print contacts in Memo, Business Card, and Phone List formats, e) individual contacts can be quickly accessed from the Start menu search text box, f) Windows Live People, the contact manager for Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail can saved its information in the Windows Contacts folder if the option to encrypt it is unchecked in Windows Live Messenger. At any time contacts in Messenger are updated, they'll be updated in Windows Contacts as well, and g) it exposes APIs for making new contacts, reading and writing in an existing contact, adding a "Label" in the form of a URI to a "Property" or a "Property" to a "Contact", API for matching devices with Windows Contacts.
Outlook Express is an email and news client that is integrated with Internet Explorer versions 4.0 through 6.0. It is also bundled with a number of versions of Microsoft Windows, from Windows 98 to Windows Server 2003, and is available for Windows 3.x, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 95 and Mac OS 9. In Windows Vista, Outlook Express was outdated by Windows Mail, then again by Windows Live Mail as separate software in Windows 7. Microsoft Entourage, sold as part of Microsoft Office for Macintosh, has changed the Macintosh version. Outlook Express is a diverse application from Microsoft Office Outlook. The two programs do not share a common codebase, but do share a common architectural philosophy. The similar names lead many people to incorrectly conclusion that Outlook Express is a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office Outlook. Outlook Express utilizes the Windows Address Book to store contact information and incorporates tightly with it. On Windows XP, it also joins together with Windows Messenger.