Android Leftovers

• New Images Of Android-Powered BlackBerry Passport Emerge

  The original BlackBerry Passport running BlackBerry OS 10.3 probably isn’t a device that you’d consider using, but how about one with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop? Before the Ontario-based firm officially unveiled the BlackBerry Priv last year, there were reports that its 2014 smartphone is getting an Android update and a video confirming as much even emerged online. While all of that verifies BlackBerry was indeed working on an Android version of Passport, nothing came out of it and the recent release of the Alcatel-made BlackBerry DTEK50 suggests that the Canadian firm is moving away from manufacturing its own phones. Well, that doesn’t mean a few prototypes don’t exist out in the wild and one lucky poster over at CrackBerry forums actually managed to get its hands on it.

• Android's Nougat Update Isn't Flashy, but Still Pretty Handy

  Nougat, Google's latest update of its Android smartphone software, isn't particularly flashy; you might not even notice what's different about it at first. But it offers a number of practical time-saving features, plus a few that could save money — and perhaps even your life. You'll be able to switch between apps more easily and do more without opening apps at all. New settings also let you block apps from eating up cellular data in the background. Nougat is starting to appear on phones, including new ones expected from Google next week. Some of these features may seem familiar because individual manufacturers such as Samsung and LG have built them on their own. But now they are officially part of Android, which means they should work with a greater range of apps and phones.

• 5 upcoming Android phones that are worth waiting for

  It’s an interesting time to be an Android acolyte. The iPhone 7 is perhaps the most divisive iPhone ever, thanks to its infuriating decision to remove the headphone jack, causing more people to consider the alternative operating system. However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, one of the flagship Android phones, is literally bursting into flames. Seems like a no-win situation. However, while the glut of different Android phones has its drawbacks (fragmentation mostly) the upside is you’re not limited to one questionable piece of hardware if you want a phone powered by that little green robot. So, with Android Nougat out and the holidays closer than you think, here are five upcoming Android phones worth waiting for.

• Europol warns of Android tap-and-go thefts

  Law authorities have warned they believe criminals are using Android phones to trigger fraudulent tap-and-go payments. The alert comes in Europol's annual Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment report. Experts had previously said that the rollout of smart wallet systems could raise such a threat. However, the police are unsure exactly how the attacks are being carried out and how common they are. "The possibility of compromising NFC [near field communication] transactions was explored by academia years ago, and it appears that fraudsters have finally made progress in the area," the report says.

• [Finally] Google Play Music now appears to be available in India

• Shazam adds "Auto Shazam" custom tile for Android 7.0 Nougat's Quick Settings

• When will my phone get Android N? Android Nougat new features: Android N is more productive, more secure and more battery-friendly, but when will you get it?

• How to create a secure and hidden folder on your Android phone

Kubuntu 16.10 Finally Gets a Public Release, Beta 2 Uses KDE Plasma 5.7 Desktop

Earlier today, September 28, 2016, Canonical announced the release of Ubuntu 16.10 (Yakkety Yak) Final Beta, which is also the Beta 2 snapshot for some of the opt-in flavors, including Kubuntu.

Black Panther OS Is No Cool Cat

Installation requires at least 10 GB of hard drive space and 1.5 GB memory. Normally, those requirements are not an issue. It becomes one, however, when installing to a virtual machine. Avoid two annoyances with installing Black Panther OS. The cancel/next buttons on the bottom of the screen did not show until I narrowed the height of the panel bar.

Tiny, open, $18 quad-core SBC has WiFi, BT, eMMC, microSD

FriendlyARM’s 40 x 40mm “NanoPi Neo Air” hacker SBC runs Ubuntu Core on an Allwinner H3 with 8GB eMMC, WiFi, BT, a DVP cam connector, and a microSD slot. The NanoPi Neo Air is a respin of the astonishingly affordable, $8 NanoPi Neo that shipped in July, and has the same 40 x 40mm dimensions as the Neo, making the two boards the smallest quad-core SBCs around. The Neo Air adds WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 8GB eMMC, and a DVP camera connector while sacrificing the Ethernet and USB host ports. It debuts at $18, but will eventually move to $20.