If you have root, you can use Titanium Backup to back up apps and the data associated with apps.
Further more, I use NAND backup once I obtain root and have a custom recovery installed, like ClockworkMod, to back up the entire phone. This takes just a few minutes at most, and does not require a PC at all.
This is far superior to the iPhone method of using iTunes to backup. As a iPhone and iPad 2 user, I loathe iTunes. It takes FOREVER to sync / backup my iOS devices, and iTunes always hogs up my PC. I dread opening iTunes up at all.
The back up feature is one of the major reasons I root my Android phones. It's so quick and easy to back up.