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MiFi might be the buzzworthy technology of the moment after the mobile wireless hotspot device landed the backing of Verizon and Sprint this month.

But at least one wireless tech vendor is looking to top MiFi, with a new enhancement for smartphones that turns them into mobile Wi-Fi hotspots.

As a result, mobile hotspot functionality won't just limited to MiFi devices and laptops anymore, thanks to Atheros Communications (NASDAQ: ATHR)'s introduction of the technology in Japan and later this year, in the U.S.

The technology arrives courtesy of Atheros's AR6002 wireless chip, which is making its debut in the new NEC N-06A smartphone from Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo. The NEC N-06A is billed as the first dual-mode smartphone on the market with Atheros AP Mode technology, Atheros's name for the mobile WLAN feature.

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