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Microsoft officially launched its Windows Phone 8 operating system with built-in NFC support Monday, with the first phones supporting the platform shipping this week.

Handset maker HTC continued the flow of announcements of high-end handsets supporting Android and Windows Phone 8, with the unveiling last week of its Windows-based 8X.

NICE, France – All handset makers planning to introduce Windows Phone 8 devices are expected to support NFC, said John Skovron, group program manager, Windows Phone engineering.

Nokia today introduced its first two devices running Windows Phone 8 and, as expected, both support NFC.

While the first smartphone sporting the Windows Phone 8 operating system grabbed the headlines–the Ativ S from Samsung Electronics–a number of other NFC-enabled portable devices, from Asus, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, as well as Samsung, were unveiled at this week's IFA tradeshow in Berlin.

Samsung Electronics announced the world’s first Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the Ativ S, which supports NFC.

Microsoft has unveiled its NFC-enabled mobile wallet, as part of its planned Windows Phone 8 operating system, which the software giant introduced today at its Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco.

U.S.-based Sequent Software hopes the addition of two NFC industry veterans, including a former NFC expert at Microsoft, will help it compete for trusted service management contracts with the top three global smart card vendors.

In a first for an e-reader seller, the CEO of bookstore chain Barnes & Noble said the company plans to include NFC chips in its Nook e-readers, which he said could make the connection between the devices and the company’s physical stores.

Even as the NFC Forum attempts to broaden the reach of its NFC touchpoint symbol, known as the N-Mark, rival marks are surfacing, threatening to present consumers with a fragmented array of NFC icons as the technology rolls out.