How can I sync my Iphone contacts with laptop running Windows 7

Question

I have a laptop running Windows 7 and would like to sync my Iphoneand ipad contacts with Windows Live, which is not possible. Microsoft have told me to download a WOA app for each device and subscribe to Office 365. Then use an exchange program within Outlook. Is there another simpler and cheaper method. The Office 365 sub is $99pa. Can I use icloud?

Answer 1

Hello there, Darrelk.
The following Knowledge Base article has information for syncing from your iOS devices:
iOS: How to transfer or sync content to your computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1296
Specifically:
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 D.