I'll covering be BackupMan, BackupBuddy, and Fly Backup, all for the Palm platform. I also contacted Pitech, makers of PiBackup II, but they didn't respond. Whether as a result of junk mail filters, personnel changes, or just plain lack of interest I don't know. Fortunately, there are three other products that'll definitely watch your back. So instead of this being a four-way battle, our product shootout will be cutthroat three-way all-out challenge.

BackupMan v1.51
BackupMan, by Bits & Bolts software, is a handheld-only backup application for the Palm OS. I say handheld-only because one of the pieces I'm covering does have a desktop counterpart, but the original intended focus of this piece is "portable" backup solutions.

BackupMan, in Figure A, has been designed for OS 5 devices, but will support OS 3.5 and up that have a VFS enabled expansion slot.

FIGURE A

BackupMan from Bits & Bolts is our first contender in the Backup Battle Royale. Click picture for a larger image.

It provides the option to schedule fully automated backups, whether the device is on or not. The automation can be set for daily backups triggered to a specific time, hourly backups, or even to backup every time you Hotsync, as you see in Figure B.

FIGURE B

BackupMan's scheduling options will suit all your needs, whatever they may be. Click picture for a larger image.

You can put multiple backups on a single expansion card as well, provided the card has the space of course. In addition, as Figure C shows, when it comes to restores, you can select individual files, or the kit and caboodle.

FIGURE C

With BackupMan, you can restore all at once, or select single files. Click picture for a larger image.

BackupMan retails for an even $10 through either Handango or PalmGear. If you'd like to check out BackupMan before you buy, the demo is a fully functioning version, but is limited to 7 days of use.

Registration brings tech support, maintenance, and minor release updates, in addition to update notification. On the site, the policy states that a major version upgrade is only free within sixty days of purchase of a previous version.