Prospects of a Nokia Android phone are no more now that Microsoft has scooped up Nokia's handset division for $7.2 billion (about £4.5b, AU$7.8b).

However, there was a time that the Windows Phone partner was actively working on an Android Lumia smartphone, according to The New York Times.

According to the report, the long-desired combination of Nokia's hardware with Google's operating system was being handled by a team within the company that had Android running on a Lumia handset.

Worst of all for those who have had this "if only" fantasy, it wouldn't have been all that hard for the company to start using Google's interface and apps on Nokia's phone.

Porting Android to the Nokia Lumia was not a "Herculean" task, according to the paper's sources.

Nokia's Android escape pod

Nokia's test run of Android on a Lumia smartphone happened before negotiations began with Microsoft, reports the Times, citing two anonymous sources.

It was seen as a "plan B," as Nokia's original partnership with Microsoft allowed the Finnish company to exit at the end of 2014.

While Microsoft was said to be aware of the Nokia Android project, it wasn't part of the discussions between the two companies, noted another confidential source.

Now Nokia can't make the switch from Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform still in its infancy to Google's much more popular Android operating system.

That's good for Microsoft because Nokia accounts for 80% of Windows Phone sales, far surpassing other WP8 handset makers like HTC and Samsung.

Nokia fans who prefer Android, however, are left wondering how the company's stellar hardware would have performed in conjunction with the world's No. 1 mobile operating system.

• Read about Huawei still being on board with WP8 despite the Nokia buyout.

When the Dell Streak smartphone arrived in 2010, it was looked on as the red-headed stepchild of the Android world. After all, who wants a 5-inch Android phone? Well, quite a lot of people as it turned out.

While the Streak may have been ahead of its time in foreseeing a future where smartphone users would clamour for extra display real estate, Dell has no desire re-enter the game, yelling "told you so!"

The CEO of the soon-to-be-privately-owned company bluntly informed CNBC on Friday: "We're not getting in the mobile phone business."

He continued: "Every time a new mobile company gets born, they need servers and infrastructure and storage. Companies need to protect and secure their data on these mobile devices."

Bruising battle

Mr Dell's comments make clear the company has other plans to profit from the ever-growing reliance on mobile devices, without taking the monetary risk of launching standalone devices.

Dell is set to regain full control of the company he founded, following a bruising year-long battle to buy it back from shareholders, for a reported $25 billion.

A stockholder vote this week approved the deal meaning, once ratified, Mr Dell will come out with 75 per cent ownership of the computing giant. The private-equity firm Silver Lake will also have a minority stake.

• Don't worry, guys. Dell isn't bailing on the PC business.

KitKat bars may be on your mind all October long, as Android 4.4 KitKat along with the Nexus 5 phone are rumored to be announced on Oct. 14, a little more than two weeks ahead of Halloween.

Google has yet to confirm the Android 4.4 features list or release date outside of "October."

However, anonymous tipsters are trying to fill in the blanks, indicating that the firmware update is destined for both newer and older phones, according to Ausdroid.

The site's sources are also saying that there's a new notifications widget on the way along with fresh animations, APIs, and gallery visualization tweaks.

This report, if true, would be excellently timed pre-Halloween buzz for KitKat-maker and new Google promotional partner Nestle.

Nexus 5 on Oct. 14 too?

The Oct. 14 announcement would also be good news for owners of the last phone that Google designed, the LTE-less Nexus 4.

That's because the LG Nexus 5 is supposed to be a 7-band LTE device that supports the higher data speeds its otherwise stellar predecessor lacked.

This bit of information comes from recent a FCC filing for a phone with the codename D820. Photos in the documents match the supposedly leaked mysterious Nexus phone seen during the unveiling of the KitKat statue on Google's lawn.

The filing also points to a smartphone with a roughly 5-inch display (measured to be 4.96 inches in the FCC report) and a Qualcomm Snapdragon System-on-a-Chip.

While the FCC documents point to hard evidence of a incoming smartphone that looks and sounds a lot like the Nexus 5, the KitKat and phone's release date, as sweet as it is, should be taken with a grain of salt.

• Read about the Google Chromecast being back in stock

If you're over all the iPhone 5S/iPhone 5C hoopla and looking for a non-iOS handset to sink your teeth into, look no further.

In a pair of new images, we have what purports to be a prototype of the HTC One Max, the larger follow-up to the HTC One. Clearly visible on the back is the same square, thought to be a fingerprint scanner, that's appeared in previous leaks.

Thanks to Chinese-language social site Weibo (via mobileleaks.nl, translation needed), the possible One Max is situated between two regular Ones, looking large enough to gobble up its predecessor.

The Max here is referred to as a prototype by the source, though it matches with photos we've seen before. We'd be amazed if HTC altered the Max's look too far from the popular One, though it could reposition (or nix) the fingerprint reader.

HTC One Max specs

If HTC fashions a fingerprint scanner to the rumored phablet, it would join the iPhone 5S as the latest phone to feature the print-reading tech.

As part of its iPhone 5S announcement, Apple revealed a new feature called Touch ID located inside the new iPhone's home button. Touch ID replaces a passcode in unlocking the 5S and makes it easier to conduct iTunes Store purchases.

What the Max's fingerprint reader is capable of, if it's real, is far from known, but we're likely to see some similar features.

As for the rest of the phone, most expect a Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz processor, 5.9-inch Full HD screen and 2GB of RAM. Look for UltaPixel camera tech, 16GB of internal storage and a 3300mAh battery. The rumored device could feature Android 4.3, too.

• HTC is struggling, but here's how it can fix itself.

Jealous your friends are all preordering the iPhone 5C today while you're left twiddling your thumbs? Turn that frown upside down, because Apple has now confirmed an exact time you'll be able to buy that swanky new gold iPhone 5S.

Apple issued one of its traditional emails to customers early Friday to herald the arrival of the iPhone 5C, which can now be preordered from its online store starting at $99 with a two-year agreement in your choice of five colors (white, red, yellow, blue or green) and two storage capacities (16GB or 32GB).

But tucked away at the bottom of the email is the news eager iPhone 5S buyers have been waiting for: The flagship device goes on sale in the U.S. Apple Online Store beginning at 12:01 AM PST next Friday, Sept. 20.

For those who would rather roll into an Apple retail store instead, the doors will swing open at 8 AM local time the same day, although if history has taught us anything, it's likely to be a typical launch day madhouse.

It's a date

While Apple hasn't yet confirmed a launch day time for other parts of the world, the iPhone 5S will also roll out to Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

For our readers in Australia, the on-sale time for the U.S. online store corresponds to 5:01 PM Melbourne time, while across the pond in merry old London it's 8:01 AM local time.

In the United States, the iPhone 5S starts at $199 with a two-year agreement or $649 unlocked for 16GB, while a comparable unlocked model in the U.K. and Australia is priced at £549 and $869, respectively.

Last but not least, the iPhone 5S is available in your choice of silver, space gray or a new gold finish and will also be available from select Apple resellers including carrier partners in the 10 launch countries.

• Feast on our review of the new Samsung Galaxy NX camera!