iPhone backup shootout: iTunes vs. rsync

iTunes' iPhone backup is absolutely horrid. i've just about decided to completely replace it with rsync, so i figured i'd give it one last go. it's been 2 hours since i plugged my phone in and iTunes auto-synced. it's been over a week since my last rsync backup. how do they compare?

time

iTunes backup—crashed after 1.5 hours. resulted in corrupted backup, will not be able to restore from it.

rsync—5 minutes, 32 seconds.

connection

iTunes backup—plug in via dock connector/usb.

rsync—wi-fi.

speed

iTunes backup—USB 2.0 theoretical maximum: 480 Mbits/second. actual speed: approx 2.3 Mbits/sec.

rsync—actual transfer speed: 440 Mbits/sec.

data transferred

iTunes backup— ~16 Gb

rsync— ~155 Mb

data availability

iTunes backup—stored in a single compressed image. not available.

rsync—stored in a standard folder on my data drive. very available.

revision availability

iTunes backup—last backup. available only as a complete reimage, assuming the last backup didn't crash. if last backup crashed (about 66% probability, in my experience), not available at all. ever.

rsync—thanks to the magic of Time Machine, every single sync is backed up. every change. every revision. these backups can be restored piecemeal, as needed.

ease of restoration

iTunes backup—plug in phone. hope iTunes has a valid backup image. curse.

rsync—run the reverse rsync command, go about your merry way. can restore a single app or folder, or the entire iPhone.

triggers

iTunes backup—plug phone into computer, manual sync.

rsync—cron jobs, folder actions, bluetooth proximity, IP address availability, manual sync.

approx wait after plugging phone into computer before i can do anything with my phone other than looking a pretty "syncing" screen

iTunes backup—1.5 hours

rsync—0 seconds

final score

verdict?

wow.