This is a bugfix release, addressing known issues in the previous version. Moreover it improves the compatibility with certain servers which didn't allow the component to work correctly.
If you have a problem after installing the component please read our troubleshooting page for the February 2013 releases of our components. Do note that these issues are only likely to affect users with old versions of PHP, Joomla! and/or very old versions of our components.
This version requires PHP 5.3 or later. The rationale behind this is explained in our statement of mid-February 2013. It won't install on hosts running PHP 5.2 or earlier.
Unfortunately, due to a long-standing bug in Joomla!'s extensions installer, if your host has PHP 5.2 and you try to install the component on it the installation won't proceed but it will also make the Akeeba Backup icon disappear from the Components menu. You can still access the component by directly visiting its back-end URL, e.g. http://www.example.com/administrator/index.php?option=com_akeeba, or by uninstalling and reinstalling the previous version, losing all your configuration and data.
This is a Joomla! bug, not an issue with our software. There is no workaround. The other alternative would be letting the new version install but not work at all due to the PHP version incompatibility. We urge affected users to file a bug report with the Joomla! project.