The trick is to sync Gmail's contacts with another contact manager--one that stores its information locally. Not surprisingly, this is a no-brainer on an Android device. You just give the phone or tablet your Gmail account name and password, and it syncs.
It's also reasonably easy on an iOS device, such as an iPad--once you know the not-very-obvious trick. You can learn that trick at Sync Mail, Contacts, Calendar with Your iOS Device.
