Does Windows Phone 7.5 already support NFC?

As far as we know NFC is a technology which will only find a home in the next minor iteration of Windows Phone called Tango.

Will Coleman, developer evangelist and product manager at Microsoft UK however believes support is already baked into Windows Phone 7.5, just waiting for the right OEM to activate it.

Speaking to TechRadar he said:

“As far as I’m aware, NFC is supported by [Windows Phone], but needs to be enabled by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). So, if any OEM wants to enable it, that can be done by all means.”

Nokia’s head of apps partnerships also confirmed NFC support is coming soon, saying:

“NFC isn’t an if, it’s a when, it will happen. Obviously there’s no NFC on our launch devices, so it’s difficult to comment too much on that, but the main divisions between secure and non-secure [NFC] mean there’s bags of opportunity for the technology [on our phones] especially with so many operators launching services.

“We need to get a [Windows Phone] device into the marketplace with NFC capabilities, and when we do we can really start to showcase our services.”

Coleman promised exciting things on the horizon: “Think it’s about just about timing, in the not too distant future there are some exciting things that will be coming through with NFC from Microsoft.”

There has been a recent rumour, started by MS_Nerd, which promised the return of “squirting”, transferring files between Zune devices, and it may be a wider implementation of this feature which is set to appear soon.

Read more at WindowsPhoneMetro here.

Thanks Steven for the tip.