Recent Linux handheld phones (PinePhone, Astro Slide, F(x)tec)

Grub for ARM is only compatible with certain ARM machines. The main difference between ARM and x86 machines with regard to boot is that x86 boot (BIOS) was standardized in in 1981 with the IBM PC. Every "IBM-PC" compatible must have certain similar low-level architecture, including its BIOS. For a low level software like a bootloader, this makes it quite easy to run the bootloader (grub) in any IBM PC with the same binary, as the low level architecture was standardized. Later on, BIOS was upgraded to EFI, which is a modern variant of the original IBM PC BIOS, and offered some level of compatibility and standardization with other architectures, like the Apple Macintosh for example.

ARM is something completely different. The architecture of ARM boards is somewhat loosen, so that each vendor defines its own internal firmware. It is very common for ARM boot process to have multiple "stages", including multiple bootloaders, like an early bootloader responsible for initializing external memory circuitry and then calling a more sophisticated bootloader from some external memory. It is also common to find the first early bootloader stages present in ROM, and sometimes even inside the ARM chip itself! With this high variety of low level architectures, it is quite challenging to have a "universal" bootloader like what we have on the PC world. It is not about running binary ARM instructions. It is about mapping memory and external devices correctly, which usually is different for every ARM board. What could "theoretically" be done, is to run GRUB as an extra bootloader stage, being called in place of the OS itself, after all initial bootloader stages had been run and initialized everything. But even then I think there would be challenges in setting the Program Counter correctly to boot into different partitions. Anyway, I could be dead wrong with this, but knowing a bit of computer architecture in general, I find it quite challenging to have a universal ARM bootloader for multi-boot purposes.

I’ve seen the F(x)tec Pro 1-X, but I don’t see why they want to create a Linux version when Android is quite well made for apps and phone.

I understand that there is a niche market out there, but is there that much fear in Android OS? Just wondering...

I believe for many people the fear is not the Andriod OS itself, but it's how Google and the many apps exploit users' privacy ceaselessly.
If there is a De-Googled Android clamshell phone, I will buy it instantly in a heartbeat.

Absolutely. Android OS is a decent OS. I'm just not a fan of Google and their little evil fingers in everything constantly prying.

Yeah, I'm tired of app developers constantly getting user's data as well.

But it didn't just start recently, according to some books I read...

It's been going on for a while. Before Google and Android, certain PC apps would "phone home". Some of the information sent was personal information. It sucks that we've become a society where absolutely everything is about how take as much info you can from a consumer.

Even so, it's just becoming more and more kind of a norm which is not normal at all from the users' perspective.

Yes. It's like a worse version of snooping on someone's diary.

Edited by stingraze 2020-11-11 2:31 AM

I'm completely with you all on this. You can't even see what data is being sucked out, it's just a carte-blanch free for all for developers with no ethical standards being in place to govern it. The BCS should do something about it really; in terms of best practice.

My friend was complaining yesterday that he main email address is getting spammed, yet he never uses it on line. I had to break it to him that either he, or someone who has his family email address has almost certainly installed an app that required access to contacts permissions. It then would have uploaded his entire address book to a CnC server to be added to a collection of "legitimately vetted and approved consumers who have consented to seek commercial mailings from selected high quality third party providers" *cough*

Don't get me started on email spam and apps. Can't stand it, I use a firewall on my PC and phone and never give out my email unless I have to. But no data blocking is perfect, and somehow somewhere data slipped out. (Probably on a reboot of my phone.)

I'm not getting junk mail out the wazoo.