Over the past week, rumors have been swirling in regards to the eFuse chip, and the possible ramifications of attempting to install custom software on your Droid X. Alarmists in the Android community went as far to say that if one were to install a custom ROM or kernel, attempt root, or hack the bootloader, the "eFuse" chip would trigger a hardware malfunction on your phone. Others argued that the eFuse chip is not a new technology at all, and has been used in many other smartphones, including the Moto Droid, Milestone, and HTC Incredible; that the only limitation with the Droid X lies in the encrypted bootloader.
Motorola has kept its silence about the "eFuse" situation, until now. Engadget reached out to Motorola with these issues, and today James King, Marketing Director for Motorola, finally responded:
"Motorola's primary focus is the security of our end users and protection of their data, while also meeting carrier, partner and legal requirements. The Droid X and a majority of Android consumer devices on the market today have a secured bootloader. In reference specifically to eFuse, the technology is not loaded with the purpose of preventing a consumer device from functioning, but rather ensuring for the user that the device only runs on updated and tested versions of software. If a device attempts to boot with unapproved software, it will go into recovery mode, and can re-boot once approved software is re-installed. Checking for a valid software configuration is a common practice within the industry to protect the user against potential malicious software threats. Motorola has been a long time advocate of open platforms and provides a number of resources to developers to foster the ecosystem including tools and access to devices via MOTODEV at http://developer.motorola.com."
So, it seems that the eFuse chip rumor has been official squashed by Motorola. Everyone can now breathe a sigh of relief, as it won't trigger a hardware (or software) malfunction. Instead, as with any bootloader, the Droid X's encrypted bootloader will check if a device is attempting to boot unapproved software. If the software is indeed unapproved, the Droid X will not flash anything. It will boot into recovery mode, from where you can reboot back into the Android OS.
So as a final wrap-up, are the conspiracy theorists yet convinced? And does this development spark any new interest in purchasing the Droid X?
Source Engadget
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