How can I sync my iPhone contacts to my Mac and vice-versa, without losing them? Can i do it with iCloud?

Question

I always add new phone numbers on my iPhone Contacts, while new email addresses are always added on my Mac Contacts. The result is that I dont have my recent email contacts on my phone, while on the Mac I dont have the recent phones.
I would like to have ONE common list of contacts (same for iPhone & Mac) which will be AUTOMATICALLY updated for both, once I add a new entry.
I am not sure how to do this with syncing, I am afraid I wll lose my old contacts. Can I do this with iCloud?

Answer 1

Hello there, Seta.
You are correct that this can be done with iCloud. The following Knowledge Base article provides some great instruction for syncing contacts:
iOS: How to transfer or sync content to your computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1296
Particularly:
Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, and Notes
You can sync contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and notes with other applications on your computer. This allows you to keep all your information in sync across multiple computers and iOS devices. The settings for these items are all in the Info tab for your iOS device in iTunes. With your iOS device connected to the computer, select your iOS device. Then click the Info tab.
For details on syncing content on your iOS device with your computer, click the sections below.
Contacts
To sync contacts with your computer, choose "Sync Contacts with" within iTunes for Windows, or "Sync Contacts" in OS X v10.8, or "Sync Address Book Contacts" in OS X v10.7 and earlier.
You can sync your contacts with:
Microsoft Outlook 2003, Microsoft Outlook 2007, Microsoft Outlook 2010 (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8)
Windows Address Book (Windows XP)
Windows Contacts (Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8)
Address Book (Mac OS X v10.7 and earlier)
Contacts (Mac OS X v10.8)
Microsoft Entourage 2004, Microsoft Entourage 2008, or Microsoft Outlook 2011 for Mac
Notes:
When syncing contacts, you can choose to sync all of your contacts or only selected groups. The option to sync selected items may not show up until after the first sync.
You can select a group of contacts to which all new contacts created on your iOS device will be added.
Additional options for syncing include syncing your contacts with Yahoo or Gmail/Google Mail. You will need to configure it with the user name and password for your Yahoo or Google account.
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.