Citing 2% smartphone market share, Microsoft pushes NFC as larger Windows component

In a keynote at the NFC World Congress, Microsoft detailed its Windows Phone 8 push to use the technology, in the process highlighting that Windows 8 itself is the de facto larger piece of its efforts.

As reported in NFCWorld, Microsoft is cognizant of its minor footprint in smartphones, but fully aware of what Windows 8 could mean for NFC technology, which is baked into the forthcoming desktop operating system:

“While I’m not the biggest phone operating system, we are the biggest computer operating system. […] It’s not just a phone with 2% market share. It’s Windows.”

As an aside, it’s fun to see Microsoft state its own measurement of where Windows Phone currently sits in the market. It reminds immediately of the comment from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who remarked after Windows Phone had been in the market for some time that the new platform had taken Microsoft from ‘very small’ to ‘very small’ in terms of market share.

Microsoft’s goal appears to be growing the footprint of NFC, noting that while there isn’t much money in the technology, it could be a strong component of its products. Again leaning on NFCWorld’s quotes, the goal for the company is “a seamless user experience.”

What could that mean? Obviously, Windows Phone 8 has moved the mobile platform to the Windows NT core, meaning that it shares much with Windows 8. So, seamless you say? That sounds like NFC compatibility between Windows 8 tablets and Windows Phone 8 handsets, TNW thinks.

This helps to place the work that Microsoft is putting into Windows Phone 8 and payments into a sort of perspective, as when combined with Windows 8 devices, point of sale systems, and other products could be created. It should be noted that Microsoft doesn’t mention this in its published notes on NFC in Windows 8:

Proximity in Windows 8 supports near-field communication devices that enable communication between computers using a tapgesture. Proximity supports establishing a connection between peer applications on separate computers with a tap, and subscribing for and publishing of messages while devices are within proximate range.

Still, there is much left to be unveiled in terms of Microsoft’s future plans for its two new ‘8’ operating systems. More as we have it.

Top Image Credit: Robert Scoble