How to emulate categories on flat list
If you don't have an ability to categorize items in your application that only can sort the list alphabetically (for example, phone address book), or application have limited or unuseful ability to assign categories to your items, it is very easy to imlement such grouping by adding group name as prefix to your items. Alphabetical sorting will do rest of the work grouping items in right order.
For example, if your PDA or phone even have "Company" field in contact details and ability to switch view from "Last Name, First Name" sort order to "Company, Last Name", usually this is very uncomfortable in personal use. And you just not use this feature and have pain each time when need to find company phone or one of the companies or service providers which you contacted before and had saved in your address book. Try the next trick if you use "Last/First Name" sorting and need to have several companies, stores, cinema and cafe contacts on hand aside with 100 your friends: for company contacts write short category abbreviation (SHOP, MOVIE, BANK, CAFE, TECH, etc.) in the "Second Name" field of contact details, and the company name in "First Name" field.
Enter 3-5 companies or organisations, and you will see benefits of this approach! It can be useful for managing IM contact list, mobile phone address book, smartphone todo list.
For example, if your PDA or phone even have "Company" field in contact details and ability to switch view from "Last Name, First Name" sort order to "Company, Last Name", usually this is very uncomfortable in personal use. And you just not use this feature and have pain each time when need to find company phone or one of the companies or service providers which you contacted before and had saved in your address book. Try the next trick if you use "Last/First Name" sorting and need to have several companies, stores, cinema and cafe contacts on hand aside with 100 your friends: for company contacts write short category abbreviation (SHOP, MOVIE, BANK, CAFE, TECH, etc.) in the "Second Name" field of contact details, and the company name in "First Name" field.
Enter 3-5 companies or organisations, and you will see benefits of this approach! It can be useful for managing IM contact list, mobile phone address book, smartphone todo list.