Evolution has a nice feature. It allows you to synchronize your Evolution contacts with Gmail contacts (address book).

How to transfer gmail contacts to Evolution:

1. Run Evolution
2. Go to "Contacts"
3. Click "File -> "New" -> "Address Book".
4. 1. Change the Type to Google,
   2. give it a name,
   3. put in your username (with the @gmail.com),
   4. and mark the SSL checkbox.
   5. Click OK
5. All your gmail contacts should show up in the Address Book of Evolution under "Google" -> address_book_name

Also I recommend you to add auto-completion support for your gmail contacts. This allows Evolution to suggests contacts for you when type in an email address.

How to set up auto-completion in Evolution:

• Go to "Edit" -> "Preferences" -> "Autocompletion"
• Check your Google address book.