The one thing that kills Android for me

eclipse01 said:

The lack of an Itunes type program. I know there are a lot of people that don't like Itunes, but for me its one of the main reasons I like Apple products, backup is a breeze.

if you loose or break your phone, no problem as long as you synced and made a backup with itunes, it will make your new phone just like the old.

Yes I know there are backup solutions for Android, but 99% of them are only for rooted phones and the others are far to confusing and are not as easy as Itunes syncing (Helium backup app)

my question is, are there ANY options out there that will backup and android device like Itunes?

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I despise iTunes, it's clunky and I hate that it forces me to install their video player onto my PC. I'd rather not have something like this.

But I do agree that Android doesn't have a STOCK backup solution like iOS has, but I like the cloud backup MUCH more. Some Android programs are very good, like Titanium backup (which needs root), but there is no completely seamless backup option like iOS, it's just so seamless and invisible.

Google cloud services does a lot of the backing up that iCloud provides. I actually think google contact sync is better than iclouds contact syncing, more reliable, more robust and has been around sense android was concieved. Google+ photo backup handles backing up photos and is included on the nexus phones and most likely any recent android phone. If not installing the google+ app adds it in. Your apps are also synced through google play services, as are wifi password, system preferences, and many other settings.

If you are looking for a full blown system image backup, a custom recovery can make nandroid backups which allows you to completely restore the phone to the exact state it was in when the backup was taken. An added benefit is that it can be done entirely on the device without the need for a pc. If you have a nexus phone installing this recovery is a very simple process and there are one click toolkits that will do it for you if using fastboot scares you or confuses you.

spinedoc77 said:

I despise iTunes, it's clunky and I hate that it forces me to install their video player onto my PC. I'd rather not have something like this.

But I do agree that Android doesn't have a STOCK backup solution like iOS has, but I like the cloud backup MUCH more. Some Android programs are very good, like Titanium backup (which needs root), but there is no completely seamless backup option like iOS, it's just so seamless and invisible.

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You mean QuickTime? Who cares if its there, you don't have to use it.....

Its a different argument - iTunes for Windows users versus iTunes for Mac users. Far less clunky and slow on a MAc for whatever reason. Having installed it on my work Dell, I can see why Windows users don't care for it.

OP - you've kinda hit my biggest issue with Android as well. The lack of a central backup system that essentially takes a "snapshot" or your device as it currently is and allows that "snapshot" to be restored - data, settings, apps, photos etc - to a new device.

I understand why this is almost impossible. Given the number of OEMs and skins, it would be a nightmare to try this. But it would be nice for Google to incorporate on stock devices like the Nexus line or the Google Edition versions.....

Such an annoyance, after all the tweaking, to have to install and arrange all the apps you had. And some apps don't automatically save settings to the cloud (because there is no central cloud option) so you have to manually set it and save. After all the effort one puts into making his/her Android look just so, I suppose it isn't that much more to setup backups.....but coming from iOS, its a huge deterrent to switching IMO.

Everything is in the cloud now. From bookmarks to notes, contacts to music... Backups are left in 2000's.

eclipse01 said:

What all does cloud backup do? is it enabled automatically?

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I think you have to enable it, thus disabling iTunes backup. It's a pretty much fail safe way to back up EVERY single iota of your phone/tablet. Let's say you lose your phone, go to Apple and buy a brand new phone, you can just upload your cloud backup to your new iphone and it will be exactly the same as it was the last time you backed it up.

Google natively does not have that option, it's not 100% and seamless, but I haven't used it since last year when I had my Note 2 so I will plead ignorance if they have fixed it up since last year. Any other solution is 3rd party and involves tweaking and is not as completely idiot proof as iOS' backup IMO.

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jrswizzle said:

You mean QuickTime? Who cares if its there, you don't have to use it.....

Its a different argument - iTunes for Windows users versus iTunes for Mac users. Far less clunky and slow on a MAc for whatever reason. Having installed it on my work Dell, I can see why Windows users don't care for it.

OP - you've kinda hit my biggest issue with Android as well. The lack of a central backup system that essentially takes a "snapshot" or your device as it currently is and allows that "snapshot" to be restored - data, settings, apps, photos etc - to a new device.

I understand why this is almost impossible. Given the number of OEMs and skins, it would be a nightmare to try this. But it would be nice for Google to incorporate on stock devices like the Nexus line or the Google Edition versions.....

Such an annoyance, after all the tweaking, to have to install and arrange all the apps you had. And some apps don't automatically save settings to the cloud (because there is no central cloud option) so you have to manually set it and save. After all the effort one puts into making his/her Android look just so, I suppose it isn't that much more to setup backups.....but coming from iOS, its a huge deterrent to switching IMO.

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No that's the problem, I DO have to use it. When I install iTunes it forces me to install quicktime. Now when I open many videos on websites, for example, they default to quicktime and there is no way to change that. You can't uninstall quicktime without messing up itunes.

Now I haven't used iTunes in at least a year so what I said may have changed, if so great. I know there were some ways around it also, but they involved tweaking and things no regular consumer would ever do.

But as you say, yeah it's MUCH clunkier for windows. For OSx it all melds in like it's supposed to.

spinedoc77 said:

I think you have to enable it, thus disabling iTunes backup. It's a pretty much fail safe way to back up EVERY single iota of your phone/tablet. Let's say you lose your phone, go to Apple and buy a brand new phone, you can just upload your cloud backup to your new iphone and it will be exactly the same as it was the last time you backed it up.

Google natively does not have that option, it's not 100% and seamless, but I haven't used it since last year when I had my Note 2 so I will plead ignorance if they have fixed it up since last year. Any other solution is 3rd party and involves tweaking and is not as completely idiot proof as iOS' backup IMO.

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No that's the problem, I DO have to use it. When I install iTunes it forces me to install quicktime. Now when I open many videos on websites, for example, they default to quicktime and there is no way to change that. You can't uninstall quicktime without messing up itunes.

Now I haven't used iTunes in at least a year so what I said may have changed, if so great. I know there were some ways around it also, but they involved tweaking and things no regular consumer would ever do.

But as you say, yeah it's MUCH clunkier for windows. For OSx it all melds in like it's supposed to.

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You can't change the default video player on Windows? Huh? I haven't experienced that....though I guess I'm not really supposed to be watching videos on my Dell.....haha.

And yes - iTunes 11 went a long way to reducing some of the bulk of the software. Still faster on a Mac.

jrswizzle said:

You can't change the default video player on Windows? Huh? I haven't experienced that....though I guess I'm not really supposed to be watching videos on my Dell.....haha.

And yes - iTunes 11 went a long way to reducing some of the bulk of the software. Still faster on a Mac.

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For web videos I never could. I thought there would be a setting in IE, but I could never find it. But this was a while ago and I have no idea if it's the same issue.

Anyway back in those times you HAD to have iTunes on to work your iphone. Thankfully today you don't, and that's many thanks to Apple, icloud, etc. I have no issues running an iphone and a PC together, in fact they really have no interaction. It's the information, thru the cloud, that has interaction, which is really nice.

eclipse01 said:

I don't understand the argument of Itunes working like garbage on windows machines, I have never has an issue on my 3-4 year old machine.

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It's noticeably slower than on a Mac. I personally don't think its garbage, but can see why some get annoyed.

eclipse01 said:

I don't understand the argument of Itunes working like garbage on windows machines, I have never has an issue on my 3-4 year old machine.

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It's more a personal preference. I find it clunky, obtrusive and redundant. Once again that's my own personal preference. I don't think it's a shot at Apple at all because you don't really need iTunes even if you have an iOS device. I haven't used it in ages, yet I had iOS devices up until about 2 weeks ago when I switched to a LG G2.

For advanced users android has the best backup for mobile devices there is: nandroids are full system images

That said, I Dont really care about backups. Contacts are autosynced with gmail and I manually move my pictures or use drop box or something. Game data is the most painful to save.

gotluck said:

For advanced users android has the best backup for mobile devices there is: nandroids are full system images

That said, I Dont really care about backups. Contacts are autosynced with gmail and I manually move my pictures or use drop box or something. Game data is the most painful to save.

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Well, I'm so glad for advanced users .

Unfortunately, most of us aren't advanced users and want it to work simply out of the box.

Apple gets this. Google doesn't. Again, I understand the challenges. Which is why I'd be fine with a Nexus/Google Experience implementation.

jrswizzle said:

Well, I'm so glad for advanced users .

Unfortunately, most of us aren't advanced users and want it to work simply out of the box.

Apple gets this. Google doesn't. Again, I understand the challenges. Which is why I'd be fine with a Nexus/Google Experience implementation.

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Well aside from game save data I Dont really see where the problem is. It is less elegant on android for sure though and involves multiple apps, well really just for photos and games.

Dont roll your eyes at nandroids though, they are amazing. The only difference between a new user and an advanced one is reading XDA.

gotluck said:

Well aside from game save data I Dont really see where the problem is. It is less elegant on android for sure though and involves multiple apps, well really just for photos and games.

Dont roll your eyes at nandroids though, they are amazing. The only difference between a new user and an advanced one is reading XDA.

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Oh I have no doubt they are great......for those who take the time to learn it all.....

Personally, I'm not that invested. Its enough for me to tweak and change the look of my Android. I spend way too much time doing that as it is.

My biggest issue is simply with having to reinstall and arrange apps and my home screens. If I've spent a bunch of time making my phone look just so, I don't want to have to re-do it because of a bug or when I get a new phone.

New iPhone? Depending on my internet connection, I'm using the exact same layout as I was before I got the new one in a matter of 10-15 minutes (on my home wifi).

Central always beats options for me. Just my preference. I'm already super excited for the Nexus 5. If Google added some type of centralized backups for the Nexus/GE line, I'd almost be willing to drop the iPhone completely if I had too......almost.

gotluck said:

Well aside from game save data I Dont really see where the problem is. It is less elegant on android for sure though and involves multiple apps, well really just for photos and games.

Dont roll your eyes at nandroids though, they are amazing. The only difference between a new user and an advanced one is reading XDA.

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Meh, I read XDA and I consider myself somewhat smart. You would definitely have to omit the vast majority if smartphone/tablet users. Just by definition today's smartphones/tablets are made for people who do NOT want to tinker, they just want to look at their kids soccer photos and email people and browse the web. While I LOVE xda and use it almost daily, and have tweaked the crap out of my G2, I don't think that's mainstream in the least.

I use nandroids as well, but mainly because I tweak at the system level and it's easy for me to end up with a brick. It is pretty nice though, Titanium isn't bad either, but both of those require a root and some tweaking. Up until recently nandroid backups required booting into recovery, which is a pretty difficult concept to grasp IMO for your average consumer. It's also got quite a bit of cryptic settings for a custom backup, and I don't know just how much a "quick" one button backup provides. Titanium has a crap load of settings and to get cloud backup I think you have to buy another app, their media sync, I'm not 100% sure on that. So that's 2 apps you need to buy. Titanium is pretty overwhelming when you first open it.

Contrast with Apple, you set it to backup to the cloud and as long as you have room you NEVER even know it's doing it's thing, ever.

eclipse01 said:

The lack of an Itunes type program. I know there are a lot of people that don't like Itunes, but for me its one of the main reasons I like Apple products, backup is a breeze.

if you loose or break your phone, no problem as long as you synced and made a backup with itunes, it will make your new phone just like the old.

Yes I know there are backup solutions for Android, but 99% of them are only for rooted phones and the others are far to confusing and are not as easy as Itunes syncing (Helium backup app)

my question is, are there ANY options out there that will backup and android device like Itunes?

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Google Music? Heck, you get an iTunes match service FOR FREE with Google Music, which you have to pay $35/year for on iTunes. And the music they sell in the store is cheaper than iTunes.

Used to use iTunes. After using Google Music, there's no way I'm going back.

jrswizzle said:

Oh I have no doubt they are great......for those who take the time to learn it all.....

Personally, I'm not that invested. Its enough for me to tweak and change the look of my Android. I spend way too much time doing that as it is.

My biggest issue is simply with having to reinstall and arrange apps and my home screens. If I've spent a bunch of time making my phone look just so, I don't want to have to re-do it because of a bug or when I get a new phone.

New iPhone? Depending on my internet connection, I'm using the exact same layout as I was before I got the new one in a matter of 10-15 minutes (on my home wifi).

Central always beats options for me. Just my preference. I'm already super excited for the Nexus 5. If Google added some type of centralized backups for the Nexus/GE line, I'd almost be willing to drop the iPhone completely if I had too......almost.

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Hehe it is funny how we are all different.. My phone is extremely boringly stock and easy to setup. I'm moreso on android due to my obsession with having total control and access. I want no interference from the product manufacturer or my carrier.

Device to new different device on android surely sucks needs to be improved. your assertions about it needing to be a nexus/gpe solutions are correct imo. OEM's seem to love their proprietary backup, merge stuff that I have no experience with. It's certainly a weakness, but if people want to learn nandroids are great too.

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spinedoc77 said:

Meh, I read XDA and I consider myself somewhat smart. You would definitely have to omit the vast majority if smartphone/tablet users. Just by definition today's smartphones/tablets are made for people who do NOT want to tinker, they just want to look at their kids soccer photos and email people and browse the web. While I LOVE xda and use it almost daily, and have tweaked the crap out of my G2, I don't think that's mainstream in the least.

I use nandroids as well, but mainly because I tweak at the system level and it's easy for me to end up with a brick. It is pretty nice though, Titanium isn't bad either, but both of those require a root and some tweaking. Up until recently nandroid backups required booting into recovery, which is a pretty difficult concept to grasp IMO for your average consumer. It's also got quite a bit of cryptic settings for a custom backup, and I don't know just how much a "quick" one button backup provides.

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yes, certainly agreed
though i would wager jrswizzle could handle nandroids

I'm under the impression that the typical one click cwm/twrp nandroid saves boot.img/recovery/rom/userdata
basically everything except for baseband/radio firmware and hboot, which i do not understand
When I load cwm up i dont even see options for custom backup, only custom restore
It can be used to downgrade OS versions

If you have a Google account all Google applications are automatically backed up. You can buy any phone, switch any phone, switch to any tablet and your Google apps are exactly where you left them. No need to plug into a computer and wait an hour or two to get a backup.

Now, if you aren't rooted and want to back up all your sms, call logs, data and apps there is the app Helium. Same slow backup and restore as itunes.

If rooted, it is no contest. Apple is slow, clunky, and antiquated compared to backing up on Android. This is one of the main reasons to root your phone. You can back up single apps, multiple apps or the entire phone. Between Titanium Backup and ROM manager, you can be up and running from old phone to new phone in less than 10 minutes.

eclipse01 said:

just to be clear, I like actually hooking my Iphone up and syncing/backing up everything (apps/music/movies/contacts).

I think google cloud and icloud only does contacts and photos (if i'm not mistaken)

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Samsung Kies is a pile of crap buy I have to admit it's pretty solid for syncing/backup.

eclipse01 said:

THIS...this is exactly what i'm talking about

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Uh, yeah. Most launchers have a backup feature to do exactly this. Nova launcher for example. And it only takes 1 second to restore the look of the phone. jrswizzle doesn't have much of a clue when it comes to Android, so you may want to look elsewhere for info.