Android App Review: G Cloud Backup Software for Android

I’ve been pretty paranoid after smashing the glass on my phone and having to replace it. I was wondering how to easily backup/restore my phone’s data once I replaced it. Typically in the past I had to have the phone Rooted and use a program called Titanium Backup to do it. Now there is a relatively new app called G Cloud which can easily backup and restore critical data to your phone in a snap. Take a look at my review of Genie9’s  G Cloud Backup service.

What is G Cloud?

G Cloud is a free download from the Google Play store (Download it here.) What it will do is automatically back up to its own Cloud storage online. It will automatically backup your data to its servers and you can restore it back to any Android device you want to! This is great for people say… like me who dropped their phone and had to replace it! It is also a great way to protect your data in case it gets lost or stolen!

Take a look at the YouTube Vid below to take a look at G Cloud:

What Can You Back Up?

You can backup the following with G Cloud:

• Contacts – All Contacts on your Phone (Although backed up already with your Gmail Account)
• Call Logs – Any Calls made received can be backed up.
• Messages – All SMS/Text Messages
• Photos – Never lose your photos again.
• Videos – All Video on your phone.
• Music – All Music found on your device.
• Documents – Any documents – including my ebooks!
• System Settings 
• Browser Data – Bookmarks/Browser History

I opted to only backup my Contacts, Call Logs, Messages, and System Settings. I already have or currently backup everything else to my computer or using another Cloud service (Drop Box). What this will not backup are  your apps or application settings.   You will still need to use an app like Titanium Backup for that. (Which will require Root access)

 Read More: Should you Root Your Android or iPhone SmartPhone?

Do I Need Root Access?

No, you do not need to have your device Rooted or unlocked to use this software. It can pull all of the necessary information from your phone and be able to restore it without having to go and Root your smartphone!

Requirements for Install

Most devices should be supported.

• Requires Android OS version 2.2 or higher. 
• Of course you need to be running a Google Android Smartphone. 
• It is a small install at 6.2 megabytes in size. 

Performing Backups and Restores

Backups

The great thing about this program is that it will only perform a backup while you on a Wireless connection with enough juice in your battery. You can change this setting if you one of the lucky few with an unlimited data plan. But for the rest of us this is a great feature!  Backups are done automatically after the initial setup so you never have to worry about manually performing them (and forgetting like I would).

Restore

This is where the app really shines. I told you earlier that I had to replace my HTC One X as I had smashed the glass. So I received the replacement and after my initial logging into the device I installed G Cloud from the Google Play store. I logged into the app and chose to restore to this device. And *poof* I had all of my Contacts, SMS Messages, and Call Log back to my phone!  No more lost information.  It was quick and painless. I have since used the feature a few times after wiping and installing different ROM’s to the phone. And each time it was great.

Note: There is also a feature where you can choose a backup point to restore from as well. For some reason I had an issue where the app restored from an older backup and I had to go in and manually choose the latest one.

How Much Storage Do I Get?

With a Free account you will get 1 gig of storage **. Which is fine for your basic settings, contact, SMS, etc. If you have a large amount of pictures/videos you will need to pay to upgrade to either their 16 or 32 gigabyte plans.

Earn Additional FREE Storage

With a recent update they have introduced a way to get up to 8 gigs of additional free storage for your G Cloud Account. By performing some simple things like liking them on Facebook, following on twitter, and doing a review on the Google Play store you can get up to an additional 1.2 GB. If you invite friends to G Cloud you can get up to an additional 6 GB of storage too!

 What I Like About G Cloud

There are a lot of things I love about G Cloud. I’ll definitely continue to use the application for my backup/restore needs.

• I like that it is a simple app to install, setup and forget about it. It does the rest.
• You get to PROTECT  YOUR DATA if your device is lost or bricks on you.
• It is smart enough to figure out when I’m on Wireless and if I have enough battery to perform a backup. 
• The Restore features allow me to restore all of the data I chose to backup or pick an incremental date backup of each type of item to be restored.
• The free plan is large enough to backup most of the phone settings I wish to backup. It also has plans that are robust enough to backup my entire device if I wished to.

What I Don’t Like About G Cloud

No way to backup my applications or app settings. It doesn’t currently allow me to say.. back up my Angry Birds saved game data. Probably because it would require even more access to the device than it already has. But since I have my phone rooted and use Titanium Backup? Its a non-issue.

Other than that? I don’t really have any complaints about the software. It does what it states it will do and does it very well!

Conclusion

If you need a lightweight fully featured backup software for your Android phone? Look no further than G Cloud. Besides being paranoid about storing data on their servers it is an awesome free piece of software. I use it often as I tend to flash my phone more than I’d like to admit so I can attest that the software does work very well and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to backup their data.

Download G Cloud Backup from the Google Play store today.

Update: The Android phone environment has definitely evolved since the time of writing this. Android and Google now have great internal backup and restore functionality baked into the devices available today. So… not much use for a 3rd party app like this anymore unfortunately.