How to back up an iPhone: Use iTunes or iCloud to make an iPhone backup

No more lost data - we show you how to use iTunes or iCloud to make an iPhone backup

With any mobile device, it's hugely important to make regular backups to prevent you from losing data such as photos, text messages, notes, voice memos, contacts and more should something happen to it. Here, we show you how to back up an iPhone using iTunes or iCloud so you don't find yourself without a way to retrieve that precious data. 

How to back up an iPhone using iTunes

There are two main ways to make a backup of your iPhone. The first is through iTunes. All you need to do is connect your iPhone to the computer that you normally sync with using the USB cable, open up iTunes and then find your device in the Devices menu on the left of the iTunes window. 

In the 'Summary' field (which should be the default landing page when you click on your device), click Back Up Now. It might take a while, but when it's finished, you'll have a complete backup of your iPhone on the computer. Now, if you happen to drop your iPhone down the loo tomorrow, or you lose it on the way home, you'll still have all of the data that was stored on that iPhone stored on your computer. You'll be able to plug in a new iPhone and restore all of that data onto the new device.

Back an your iPhone using iCloud

The second way to back up your iPhone uses Apple's iCloud feature. It will back up your device whenever you're connected to a WiFi network, so there's no chance you'll forget to back up your iPhone, unlike the iTunes backup method. 

If you choose to use iCloud as your method of backing up your data, you'll need to go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup and then toggle the iCloud Backup switch on. Your device will now automatically back up your camera roll, accounts, documents and settings content when it is charging, locked and connected to WiFi.

You only get 5GB of free storage in iCloud, though, so you may find that you want to pay a the extra to get an additional 10GB per year, 20GB per year or 50GB per year (£14, £28 or £70 respectively). Before you cough up the cash, though, check whether there's anything you can cut out of your backup.

iCloud automatically backs up the following:

• Photos and videos in your Camera Roll
• Device settings
• App data
• Home screen and app organisation
• iMessage, text (SMS) and MMS messages
• Ringtones
• Visual Voicemail

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Apple also stores the most recent 1,000 photos from your Photo Stream if you've turned on that feature. You can do so by going to Settings > iCloud > Photos and then toggle My Photo Stream. These photos don't count against your storage quota.

What isn't backed up with iCloud, though, is music and apps, though if you've purchased them from iTunes or the iOS App Store you'll be able to easily re-download them for free should you need to restore an iPhone from your backup.

If you find that you are running out of iCloud storage space, it's worth checking that you're not backing up anything you don't really need before you pay for more storage. Go to Settings > General > Usage on your iPhone and then scroll down to Manage Storage. Tap on your device, and go to Backup Options. Here, you can turn off backups for individual apps.

Videocon rolls out VStyle Smart phone for Rs 2950 and 4 other handsets

Videocon has gone full throttle and launched fournew feature phones called the V-Style Mega, V-Style Curve, V-Style Flip and V-Style Mini in India. Apart from these, the company has also let loose the V-Style Smart device running on Android, a competitor to the Intex and Spice Mozilla Firefox OS phones.

The Videocon V-Style Smart works on the very outdated Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread OS and costs Rs 2950. It has a 3.5-inch 320 x 480p HVGA resolution screen and a 1GHz processor. There’s a measly 128MB of RAM under the hood and 256MB of ROM along with 16GB microSD card support.

The dual SIM and dual standby handset is powered by a 1300mAh battery, has a basic 1.3MPback camera and a 118mm x 61.2mm x 9.6mm body. It can connect to GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. In terms of looks, you couldn’t ask for any design more generic than the one sported by the V-Style Smart.

The V-Style Mini carries a price of Rs 1299 and a QVGA resolution 2-inch screen phone. It also offers the standard specs you’d expect of it such as a VGA camera, 16GB memory expandability, Bluetooth support, GPRS connectivity, FM radio and a decent capacity 1000mAh battery.

The Videocon V-Style Flip and V-Style Curve are each pegged at Rs 1749. The former has 16GBmicroSD card support, while the latter allows for double the expansion. On other counts, both feature phones are remarkably alike. The first mentioned handset also arrives with a flip cover.

Each has a 2.4-inch QVGA panel, 900mAh rechargeable cell, a 1.3MP snapper, GPRS compatibility and FM radio. The Rs 1999 Videocon V-Style Mega boasts of a 3-inch IPS display, a 1.3MP camera, 32GB microSD card support, FM radio, GPRS, Bluetooth and a 1000mAh battery.

Spice Fire One – Mi FX1 out for Rs 2229, is India’s 2nd Firefox OS phone

The Spice Fire One – Mi FX1 Firefox OS smartphone should technically be up for the taking at a price if Rs 2229, as announced previously. But online retailer Snapdeal, through which it was supposed to be made available initially, is still to add the device to its listings.

On the other hand, the Intex Cloud FX is already up for grabs as a Snapdeal exclusive for Rs 1999. Spice has yet to reveal all the details of the Fire One – Mi FX1, but we know you’re wondering about the difference in prices between the two handsets.

It starts with the fact that the Spice Fire One has a front camera of 1.3MP unlike its only other current Firefox OS rival in India. Owing to Mozilla’s partnership with Spectrum, we expect to see a processor from the latter inside the Mi – FX1, of course.

Spice Fire One Mi – FX1 main specifications list:

- Mozilla Firefox OS
- 3.5-inch 320 x 480p capacitive display
- 1GHz processor
- Dual SIM card slots
- 2MP rear camera, 1.3MP front lens
- 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity

As you can tell from the specs we’ve lined up above, the Spice phone is a very basic device which is almost totally based on the reference design dictated by Mozilla. A fun fact – just like the Cloud FX, even this handset is practically the first generation iPhone of 2014 if you compare the features.

We’ll give you the word as soon as the Spice Fire One Mi – FX1 hits availability status on Snapdeal. Meanwhile, here’s the link you can follow in order to buy the aforesaid Intex smartphone.

IRCTC brings ticket booking app to BlackBerry World

Available now on the BlackBerry World is the IRCTC ticketing app which will allow BB loyalists to ensure that their tickets are booked right through their smartphones. It’s only meant for BB 10 devices at the moment, and can be downloaded free of cost of course.

Describing it as an ‘easy and streamlined train booking service,’ Annie Mathew, who’s the director of the business development and alliance over at BlackBerry India has asserted that the company is ‘excited’ to bring the IRCTC app to BB World. ‘Increasing smartphone perpetration and the increasing dependence on mobile applications,’ is what has propelled the Indian body to release this product, according to her.

Apart from booking tickets, you can make use of the app for other important tasks as well, thus enhancing your travelling experience further. For instance, if you’ve booked a waitlisted ticket, your reservation status will be accessible from right inside the application, whereas the schedules and routes of trains will also be available.

And that’s not all, using the IRCTC app on your BlackBerry devices you can check the availability of tickets for a particular train or journey whenever you wish to. Other traits that form part of its offerings include the ability to cancel tickets, view stuff like booking history, recent history, favorites and the facility to add passengers as contacts.

Like we said, the IRCTC app is live now on the BlackBerry World storefront as a free download. The app is already available through the Windows Phone Store since late last year.

Uber slim Sony Xperia T3 outed at Rs 27990 in India

The Sony Xperia T3 has been launched in India with its price set at Rs 27990 pleasingly soon after the smartphone made its first appearance in June, ensuring fans over here aren’t left feeling like they got access to the device late. Equipped with the Android 4.4 KitKat OS, it kicks in mid-range specs and comes wrapped in a stainless steel frame.

The Xperia T3 features a 5.3-inch 720p HD displayand a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset bearing a 1.4GHz quad core processor. It’s a very slim device, with a thickness of just 7mm. An 8MP Sony Exmor RS camera forms part of its offerings as well, apart from a 1.1MP front-facing snapper.

Sony has granted this smartphone 8GB worth of internal memory which you can expand further by means of its microSD card slot that can accommodate up to 32GB. A 2500mAh battery has made its way into the Xperia T3 smartphone, providing it with 13 hours of talk time and 688 hours of standby time.

Here’s a quick glance at the full list of Sony Xperia T3 specs:

- Display: 5.3-inch, 720p HD
- OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
- Processor: 1.4GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
- Memory: 1GB RAM, 8GB storage (expandable up to 32GB)
- Camera: 8MP rear, 1.1MP
- Battery: 2500mAh
- Dimensions: 150.7mm x 77mm x 7mm
- Weight: 148gms
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Miracast, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, NFC, USB, GPS

Dubbed as the slimmest 5.3-inch smartphone right now, the Sony Xperia T3 will soon be seen arriving on store shelves in India. If you’re interested in purchasing it, be sure to set aside a sum of Rs 27990 before you charge forward.

Apple updates MacBook Pro lineup with more RAM and faster CPUs

Apple has updated its Retina display MacBook Prolaptop series with more RAM and faster processors, in keeping with rumors we’ve been hearing about the company pulling such a move. The improved hardware will be followed by the fall 2014 launch of the 11th major release of OS X dubbed Yosemite.

No cosmetic changes have been made to the 13-inch and 15-inch models, but you can expect them to be more powerful because of the upgraded internal components we’ve mentioned above. What’s more, the older 13-inch non-Retina laptop, the AppleMacBook Pro with an optical drive, is currently available for a reduced rate of $1099, its original specifications being left intact.

The 13-inch Macbook Pro gets a makeover in the RAM department, now featuring 8GB RAM instead of merely 4GB. The 512GB capacity version which houses a dual core 2.8GHz Intel i7 chip, costs $1799. You’ll have to cough up $1299 for a 128GB Retina MacBook Pro or $1499 for a 256GB option, with both being powered by dual core Intel i5 processors clocked at 2.6GHz.

If you want to go bigger with the screen, then the 2014 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with 16GB RAM which is up from 8GB. For $1999, you get a 4th generation 2.2GHz quad core Intel i7processor, Intel Iris Pro graphics and 256GB storage. $2499 will buy you a 2.5GHz quad core Intel i7 Pro variant with 512GB memory, Intel Iris Pro graphics and GeForce GT 750M muscle.

The updated 13-inch and 15-inch Apple Retina MacBook Pro notebooks have started shipping out to customers already. For more money, you can also choose to order these laptops with even faster processors and up to 1TB storage.

Wickedleak Wammy Note 3 looks like Galaxy S5, retails for Rs 12990 only

The newly announced water-resistant device, the Wickedleak Wammy Note 3 is blatantly copying the Galaxy S5 right down to the way its promotional pictures and press shots have been taken. This handset which looks exactly like the Samsung flagship can be bought in India from September 1 onwards at a price of just Rs 12990.

What’s interesting is that its water resistance attributes are optional. So you need to add another Rs 1500 to your purchase if you wish to grab those. The device ships with a 5.2-inch full HD display and runs on a 1.7GHz octa core MediaTek processor.

2GB worth of RAM is also in the offing, apart from a Mali 450 GPU for fast graphics processing. This dual SIM phone features the Android 4.4 KitKat OS, and offers a 13MP main camera and a 5MP front one. The Wammy Note 3 comes equipped with 8GB of storage which can of course be expanded further up to 32GB via its microSD card slot. Its S Window feature which works with a flip cover allows you to perform many important functions without having to open the protective case.

Here’s a deep look at all the key specs of the Wickedleak Wammy Note 3:

- Display: 5.2-inch 1080p IPS LCD
- OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
- Processor: 1.7GHz octa core
- Memory: 2GB RAM, 8GB storage (32GB expandable)
- Camera: 5MP front, 13MP rear
- Battery: 3800mAh

Like we said, the Wickedleak Wammy Note 3 costs Rs 12990, but if you wish to grab it with its water resisting properties onboard, the asking amount will go up to Rs 14490.

Android KitKat adoption boosts, beats Ice Cream Sandwich finally

13.6 percent of all Android smartphone and tabletscombined are now running the 4.4 KitKat platform. According to new data which has just been released by Google, the latest version of Android OS has finally beaten Ice Cream Sandwich, but it has of course not been able to challenge the Jelly Bean variant which occupies space on most of the affordable smartphones from around the world.

This release of data seems quite like an answer to Apple’s revelation at the ongoing WWDC of iOS 7being present on 89 percent of all iPhones, whereas Android KitKat only possessing a 9 percent installed base. According to numbers release by Google, between May and June Android 4.4.x KitKat rose by 5.1 percent to reach 13.6 percent from 8.5 percent.

Furthermore, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has also seen a small amount of growth from last month’s 8.5 percent to 10.3 percent. The same fate stands for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean which gained pretty little as opposed to the 4.1 Jelly Bean version which lost 4.5 percent to land at 29 percent from last month’s 33.5 percent.

Right now, it is this particular version which occupies the largest share in the Android devicesarena. As expected, adoption of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has decreased by 1.1 percent, and it now occupies space on just 12.3 percent of all Android devices worldwide.

As compared to iOS, Android updates face delays and are cancelled for many devices due to fragmentation. KitKat’s rise will come as good news to Google since that means more devices become eligible for its rumored 4.5 or probably 5.0 Lollipop update that’s apparently slated for this year.

Google to add Celkon and Intex to its India Android One partner list

Google’s Android One project could be getting new partners in India as Celkon Mobiles and Intex are said to be in talks with the search giant. So far, Karbonn, Spice and Micromax are scheduled to launch handsets under the program in the coming months and we could see the roster increase as other OEMs are looking to join the bandwagon.

Google announced the Android One initiative during its I/O conference last month with an aim to offer highly affordable smartphones in emerging markets. The search giant is basically aiming at $99 devices and it has partnered with MediaTek to develop reference designs which will be used for these handsets.

ET notes that Celkon Mobiles is a done deal as the fourth partner in the program. However, Intex is yet to secure its position as the fifth member and it’ll disclose the final outcome in the next 15 to 20 days. The former has confirmed that its first smartphones in the series will be out sometime during Diwali which will take place in the month of October.

There are no details about the handset, but we expect it to be similar to the Micromax one which was showcased at the I/O conference. In the Android One project, Google will basically provide OEMs with hardware and software support to reduce the overall production cost of devices. These handsets will offer a pure Android experience like Nexus phones and software updates will be issued directly from the search giant.

The Android One project will materialize in India and will be made available in other locations around the globe in the near future. With Intex and Celkon onboard, the total number of OEMs will increase to 5.

Nexus 5 Android 4.4.4_r2 KitKat firmware update rolling out in India

Google is reportedly rolling out a new update for the Nexus 5 smartphone dubbed Android 4.4.4_r2 KitKat which is said fix certain network issues. The new firmware isn’t a global release since it’s being seeded to devices only on Telsta in Australia, New Zealand’s 2Degrees, and in India.

What’s interesting is that the Android 4.4.4_r2 update for the Nexus 5 is just a mere 2MB in size. A post on XDA Developers notes that the only changes it introduces are radio-related to make the device work better in the said locations.

The new firmware update is being seeded over the air and can be downloaded manually as well, but with a huge 442MB size. The current firmware carries the build number KTU84P, while the new one is KTU84Q. You’ll be able to know if you’re already on the latest release by checking the ‘About phone’ tab in the Settings menu.

If you’re in India or have a Nexus 5 running on Telsta in Australia or 2Degrees in New Zealand, we highly recommend getting the update. Users from other countries, however, can still acquire the firmware through Google, but it wouldn’t be wise to flash it to your device, especially since there’s nothing new to benefit from.

Apart from the new KitKat build, Google has also started rolling out an update for its Glass wearable. The new release brings in various new features including an overhaul of the interface which now flaunts a cleaner appearance. Apart from this, connectivity has been improved along with network handling.

To manually check for the Android 4.4.4_r2 KitKat update on your Nexus 5, head over to the ‘Software update’ tab under ‘About phone’ in the Settings menu.