BTW, I'm wondering if the some of the stuff in ContactListFragment.onCreateView wouldn't fit better in the fragment's onResume.  This includes anything to do with querying providers or looking at connections.

This document implies that the activity might not even be created before onCreateView is called: http://developer.android.com/guide/components/fragments.html#Lifecycle

It also seems wise to refresh the spinner after we are paused, in case the account list has changed.  Perhaps this is the reason for the crash you saw after account creation.