Tethering for smartwatch phones

[japlytic]

As I am considering buying one, I am trying to find a smartwatch phone which supports data tethering via Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth (so you can browse the web on a tablet while wearing your smartwatch phone while it is connected to the cellular network), and I cannot seem to find tethering apps for wearable devices incorporating cellular data access.

[diif]

Re: Tethering for smartwatch phones

Its a power/battery size issue. It males no sense, which is why you can tether a watch to a phone/tablet bit not the other way round.

[linuxguru]

Re: Tethering for smartwatch phones

The capability has existed for maybe 10-15+ years in phones, either through Bluetooth Dial-Up Networking (commonly found in Nokia 2G and later phones) or through Wi-Fi hotspot functionality (aka Mifi, found on most, if not all Android phones).

I did see a Chinese smartwatch recently that has a claimed 4G LTE modem *and* Wi-Fi hotspot capability (basically Mifi), which would allow the use of a notebook, tablet, WiFi-enabled phone anywhere where there is 4G coverage. However, that watch may be an informal Shanzhai-developed unit that is not formally approved by telecom regulatory authorities of any country (e.g. FCC).

If you're using almost any stock Linux distro on the client device, there's no need for any tethering app - the capability is included in NetworkManager, and it just works. In addition, most MiFi hotspot devices with USB charging and wired USB networking also work seamlessly under Linux. The Qualcomm-based Wi-Pod that I'm using to access 4G LTE services right now is one such, and comes with a built-in battery that allows a full day's operation without recharging the battery, either with USB networking or MiFi. As an aside, the service provider that I'm using, Reliance Jio in India, has one of the lowest announced rates for 4G wireless data in the world - about 15cents daily, though it's capped at 1GB for 21 hours, and no limit between 2 AM and 5 AM daily. If you exceed the cap, the speed falls back to 2G speeds, with no further cap or charge. I get anywhere between 3 Mbps and 30 Mbps on the 4G link, depending on the time of the day and network congestion.

In principle, I could just pop the unit into my pocket and use my notebook anywhere in India where there is 4G LTE coverage (about 100% in the bigger cities, and maybe 40% of the boonies).