In 2017, it is safe to assume that the majority of folks have most of their lives stored on their smart phones. From calendar items and schedules (complete with alarmed reminders), to important text messages, to a bazillion photos of friends and family, the storage on such devices can fill up quite quickly. If the thought of suddenly losing everything that’s saved on your smart phone scares you, then you definitely need a reliable back up strategy. At Imagine Now IT we can now recover the data on your smartphone, if you are on our hosted email platform.

iCloud for iOS devices
Having your email hosted with Imagine Now IT will ensure your data can be retrieved as required. For those not on our services, iCloud reliance is an option. iOS devices such as iPhones, iPads or iPods can all be backed up fairly easily using Apple’s apex of online services- iCloud. This service can be used to access and share photos, documents, music and data between iOS devices, Macs and Windows PCs. There is 5GB of storage available for free on iCloud, so if you have low storage requirements, backing up data comes at no cost to you. However, most of us will have that in photos alone, but don’t despair, upgrades are inexpensive. For $1/month you can have 50GB of storage, for $3/month you get 200GB of storage, and for $10/month you’ll have 1TB of storage.

The extra 50GB of storage at $1 per month is more than sufficient for most users. You can even set your phone to automatically backup your phone to iCloud when your phone is plugged in as long as it is also connected to WiFi. Phones are typically charged once per day at minimum, which means your phone would be backed up daily. That’s $12/year for peace of mind and protection of your digital data.

To enable backup on your iOS device, click on settings iCloud Backup. You will be required to sign in to iCloud, then you can select “Backup Now.”

Android devices backup
Having your email hosted with Imagine Now IT is great protection, however, there are still options for those without hosted email services. Sadly, this process is not as straight forward as that of the iOS device. Android devices can be plugged in to your laptop or PC using a USB cable and files can then be manually dragged and dropped over. This can be time consuming and does require you remembering, and making the time to complete the backup.

Having a Google account on your Android phone can speed this process up by automatically backing up your contacts, calendar, passwords, application data, and most settings. However, some things are not automatically backed up, such as pictures, videos and texts, which are equally (or even more) important. To save images, recordings and text messages, Google Drive can help. Google provides 15GB of free space (slightly more generous than Apple), and if this is insufficient, for $2 per month, you can have 100GB of space, and an extra $10 per month will buy you 1TB.

Manufacturer Apps
Individual phone manufacturers often have their own backup app solutions through their own clouds, such as HTC Backup and Samsung Kies. Such apps are capable of backing up contacts, some settings and some user data, however, it does not include the apps themselves nor any lower level data.

Third Party Apps
Photos, contacts, call histories and certain documents can be backed up using third party apps such as Lookout, ESET Mobile, 360 Security or Titanium Backup, among others. They also provide protection against viruses and malware. Other services such as theft prevention services are available from some of these apps, sometimes at an additional fee.

There are multitudes of storage options available on the market, no matter what device you’re using. Don’t be in a position where the loss or damage of your phone means losing important personal data or precious, irreplaceable memories captured on phone cameras. If you are interested in the security offered by having a hosted email platform, as the easiest way to restore lost data, contact Imagine Now IT today. Also, if you have any questions in regards to storage, using the cloud or you have a business in need of cloud services and intellectual property protection, give us a call at Imagine Now IT today on 49344966.

The Autumn Edition of the IT Informer is packed full of useful information and tips!
Would you like to find out about connecting home appliances to the internet?
Or make a beautiful Chicken & Vegetable Bake??
You will also find out about whats happening at Imagine Now I.T.
& our client Club Singleton.

ALL of this and more in our Autumn IT Informer. To get your copy, download it here!

It’s time to get ready for back to school and in the rhythm of work for 2017. Student or not – here’s 4 gadgets that will help you get organised and motivated for this year!

Kindle
The Kindle is a fantastic, small device that holds battery for lengthy periods of time and can store more books than a backpack! Anyone who passed through school in the day of the textbook can appreciate the ease of this modern, compact device.
When used for education, Kindles make the school, college or university day far more convenient as they are simply carted to classes. They are also useful for quick reading during down time in the doctor’s office or while waiting for public transport.

Tiles
The loss of phone, backpack or even bike can be common occurrence in the busy life of a student. That’s where tiles can come in handy. A Tile is a small Bluetooth tag that can be attached to any item you own. Should you lose a tagged item, simply open the app on your phone and select locate. Provided the item is within Bluetooth range, it will start beeping so you can find it.
The Tile can even be double tapped and will make your phone chime- even when set on vibrate. When a few tiles are employed on all major items (backpack, phone and house keys especially!) you can potentially save many hours of searching!
Another cool feature is that if you have the Tile app, every device with the Tile app running will passively listen for the tiles marked as missing. So, if another person has a tile in range of your phone marked missing, your phone will anonymously report the Tile’s location. This means that if you’re hundreds of miles away from a lost tile, an item you would otherwise never recover, another person’s phone can still locate it for you!

Thumb Drive
Every student needs a reliable, safe thumb drive. While programs such as DropBox and Google Drive are seemingly making them obsolete, there are still plenty of great uses and features of the classic thumb drive. Transferring large files or for use when no internet connection is available are two examples.
When looking for a thumb drive, check out product reviews and consider the speed for file transfer, storage capacity and physical size of the drive- smaller is best for storing and transporting.
Professional Advice- Format your new thumb drive as exFAT. This will allow it to be used on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.

Back-Up Power
Backup power is pretty much an essential for students spending long days out and about between classes and study time in the library. There are plenty of options on the market for backup power for devices. Ideally, you will want something that is small but holds plenty of power. Imagine being the campus hero next time a friend loses battery on their phone!

For further advice on handy gadgets and I.T. for back to school or work, contact the team at Imagine Now IT today!