My Iphone 4 says "backed up - never". I am trying to back up to Icloud...it says iPhone plugged in, locked and connected to Wi-Fi. It shows "Backing Up" ...slow. Estimated time remaining.... (It shows no time). How will I know when it is complete?

Question

My iPhone 4 says "backed up-never".  I am trying to back up to Icloud..it says it will automatically backup when is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi.  Does this mean I have to lock my phone?  It shows "backing up" & "estimating time remaining".....but it looks like it will never finish.  Can somebody please help me?  I do not have enough memory to update my phone, I do not want to lose all of my pics & videos....is there some way to save them ie., memory card?
I am truly ignorant with respect to this, but I was trying to video my grandson & it told my I was out of storage

Answer 1

You should import your photos and videos to your computer following the steps outlined in this guide: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4083.  After doing so you will be given the option to delete them from your phone to give you more space.  If you don't want to delete them all in this way, after importing them to your computer you can open your camera roll in the thumbnail view, tap Edit, tap all the photos and videos you want to delete from your phone, then tap Delete.
If you have never backed up your phone, and are having trouble backing up to iCloud, you should perform a manual backup on your computer.  To do this, connect your phone to your computer, open iTunes, right-click on the name of your phone on the left side and choose Back Up.  (If you have iTunes 11, first go to View>Show Sidebar.)
To back up to iCloud you need to be sure your phone is connected to wifi and your charger, then just press the power button to lock the screen (i.e., put it in "sleep" mode).  It should then back up automatically if you have turned on iCloud Backup in Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup (at the bottom).