Microsoft will include NFC technology in Windows 8, its current name for the next version of its operating system, according to an announcement from its Build developer conference.  The company disclosed that it is working on NFC with NXP, the technology’s leading chipset vendor which has supplied the NFC chipset used in Samsung tablets via demonstrations at the conference. At the same time NXP said its PN544 NFC radio controller will support Windows 8. And that it had worked closely with Microsoft to develop a NFC driver for the new OS enabling “a variety of use cases that are triggered by close proximity or a tap”.  However, none of the use cases laid out by NXP include financial transactions. Instead the vendor put its emphasis on data sharing between devices. Or the transfer of control from one device to another, such as moving a video call from a tablet to another NFC-enabled device. Or the interaction with a smart poster equipped with a NFC tag.

Reports are mixed about a launch date for the new OS, which has been designed to include features that are more suited for touchscreens and tablets than previous versions of Windows.  Vendors are expected to start introducing hardware running Windows 8 by mid-2012 at the earliest, according to one report, while another report said the OS could be released by the fall of next year.